There's Something To Be Said For SelfRightousness
by irisbud
Summary: Now Complete! A scene from Beverly Crusher's Academy days involving an evil roommate, a disbelieving Admiral, and a great group of friends. Please review!
1. Default Chapter

Beverly Howard ran a brush through her long red hair as she sighed in quiet frustration. Her first semester at the Academy had been difficult, and she was certain the second would be even more so. That, however, was not the source of her annoyance, wish as she might that it were. No, this was a cadet's worst nightmare, save the ones revolving around their studies: she was getting a new roommate, today, at the end of her last class.

She had started off the year with a small dark haired girl named Claire Voy, and the two had been fast friends, that is until Claire had opted to leave the academy and pursue her medical career elsewhere. Beverly had been saddened by her departure but had grown used to having a room for herself, and had eventually come to enjoy the solitude. Now that was all about to change. 

Checking the chronometer briefly, and discovering she was running late, Beverly grabbed her data PADD and disks, then walked briskly into the hall, hoping she could make it across the campus in time to reach her first class of the second half of her first year, advanced Terran comprehensive anatomy. She rounded a corner, nearly falling over in the process, and ran straight into an upperclassmen, jarring the supplies he was packing to the floor. 

Beverly moaned softly, and bent over to help pick them up, grimacing as the bell rang a few moments later. There was no way she could ever explain this to her instructor, without getting reprimanded for failure to pay attention to her surroundings. And she had just gotten off probation two months ago! 

The older cadet looked at her inquisitively for a moment. "I'm late for my class," she explained starkly, trying to grab the last few microchips, and make it to the anatomy room before the second bell rang, signaling that anyone showing up after that, or, worse yet, failing to, without fair reason was going to be sent to the superintendent, immediately following their class.

The boy regarded her oddly for a moment, and then a smile spread across his tan, square-jawed face. "What are you looking at?" she snapped, and braced measurably for the tongue lashing and lecture she expected, mentally chiding herself for talking before thinking, again, and this time to an upperclassmen. Who would it be next, an admiral?

Slowly his brown hair shook over his head, his eyes twinkling merrily in the bright light of the corridor. He bit his lip, quite viciously she noted, to keep what she was almost certain was laughter, bottled up inside. At last he chuckled loudly, the halls echoing with it. Beverly was beyond disconcerted. "What?" she managed to squeak in a voice filled unabashed annoyance, though, at last, it was underlined with amusement.

At last he stooped long enough to gasp out "What's your name?"

She was perplexed by his behavior, and merely answered "Beverly Howard."

That grin, the one she found so immensely annoying crossed his features again, his eyes overflowing with laughter. "I'm Walker, Walker Keel."

Beverly fought down the urge to say _so_ and stalk off down the hall, at a run. Instead she said, "I am late, Cadet Keel."

No you aren't, Cadet Howard." His voice was fluent and pointed, though there was still a note or two of laughter buried deep within it. 

"Yes I am, I have to leave!" She said, much louder than she had intended to.

"Cadet Howard.."

"Beverly" she interjected ferociously.

"Beverly, that was the bell signaling the end of breakfast, not the beginning of class."

"But," she stammered, wondering how she could have thought she was frustrated before, "They're the same thing! Some Cadets don't have class until later, and that's just to tell them there's no more break…" she let her voice trail off upon catching his eye.

"True enough," he stated with blunt audacity, "But I didn't know that was true on Sundays." 

"Oh my gosh!" she moaned, her hand flying to her mouth. 

He laughed again. "See you around, Beverly." That said, he walked off down the corridor. As soon as she was thoroughly certain he was gone, she thudded her head softly against the wall, wondering, bemusedly, if this had had anything to do with her frustration. Deciding it did, and also deciding that her frenzy was largely due to the acquisition of a new roommate, she began a mental list of grudges to hold against her when she came, tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day had passed uneventfully, the only marring yet to come. Beverly yawned slightly during the lecture ending of her last class, letting her thoughts stray for a moment. Perhaps her new roommate wouldn't be so bad after all. It was, after all, possible that she was just nervous about their first meeting, and was venting that feeling in an ebbing of frustration.

At last the bell rang and Beverly slid from her seat quickly, her booted feet touching the carpeted stairs before she realized what was gong on. The Superintendent's office was down the corridor and through a maze of offices and other Starfleet stations. Finding it would be quite difficult, considering that she had never done so alone before.

Not bothering to pay attention, as usual, to her surroundings, Beverly bumped straight into Keel again, though this time he didn't appear to have dropped anything. A brief apology was all that was necessary, albeit all she had time for. "I'm sorry, Cadet Keel." 

"Walker," he said.

"Walker, she repeated, feeling quite like a parrot she had once seen. She started to hurry off, her feet thudding loudly down the corridor.

"Beverly," he called out, "Wait, I have this friend I'd like you to meet. If you could just hold on about one minute…"

She covered his request with a blunt statement. "Sorry, Walker, I have got to get to a meeting, and see my new roommate."

"Oh. Tough break." He sounded genuinely sympathetic.

"Yeah. About your friend…maybe, I can catch up with you later. I have got to get out of here." That said, she tore off down the hall, and, after a few wrong turns, found the office she was looking for, entered upon approval, and beheld her new roommate.

She was a human, Beverly supposed, or something of nearly indifferent physiology, with a beautiful face and long, fine blond hair, accented by wide-set blue eyes that perfectly matched Beverly's own, she though, a bit jealously, recognizing that she felt as though a portion of her individuality had been taken away. The other girl's voice was beneath sincere, her demeanor of high-handed, radiating arrogance vibrating through it with surprising clarity, although the superintendent seemed not to notice, or simply not to frown upon it. "Mina Coldwell, and you would be?"

"Beverly Howard," she mumbled, feeling inferior, and childish next to the rather tall girl, and thinking she couldn't have felt worse if she had tried, or picked a person to stand next to who would make her feel any more awkward. They were rather opposite, she noted, as her and Claire had been, although they had equaled each other fairly well. Mina was tall and exhaustingly thin, though not to the point of looking sickly. Her face was gorgeous, her features exotic in a nice, fashionable was, her hair highlighted, assumed naturally with golden blond, instead of the pale, near white the rest cascaded downward with. Beverly was, by contrast, of average height, though still quite thin, however, not to this extent. Her hair reached well below her somewhat broad shoulders, and her face was pretty, though rather bland, next to Mina's. She already disliked her, immensely.

Superintendent Parsons, hopefully sensing the almost palpable tension that littered the room, most of it emanating from Beverly, cleared his throat softly. "Cadet Howard, would you please show Cadet Coldwell to your quarters?" 

Beverly drew a stiff breath, shuddering at the finality of the word _your_, momentarily righted herself, though the effect was somewhat measurable, and starkly stated, "Of course, Admiral Parsons." She had, wisely, kept all the comments she would have liked to have made inside, hoping that, by some miracle, the Admiral would have, by now, acknowledged her disconcertion. 

"Is there a problem, Cadets?" Parsons looked daggers at Beverly, who swallowed the irreversible lump in her throat. 

"No, sir." She stammered, meekly.

"Good." The Admiral's smile was bordering in what Beverly wanted to call sarcasm. "Then this assignment will be permanent, by the semester."

_That, _thought Beverly, _was a problem. A _definite_ problem. _She merely nodded at the Admiral, motioned to Mina, and walked, almost marching, out the door, head held high. 

Once outside, she lowered her face a little, gazing across the way at the rows of colorful flowers that the groundskeeper, an old man, a presumption made by most of the Cadets, Beverly not excluded, who thought him to be rather ancient, named Boothby, was caring for at the moment Somehow, the view of natural plants against the artificial buildings always brought her down to Earth, so to speak, no matter how mad she might be. Mina seemed not to care about the plants, just about Boothby. "Who is that strange little old man."

"That," said Beverly, fury radiating through her argumentative tone, "Is Boothby, the groundskeeper. And you had better learn not to ask such rotten questions if you want to last long around here." She finished with a tone that said further discussion was not advised, although it didn't matter, due to the fact that the subject matter was closed to begin with. In truth, she had asked the question once herself, but found that that need not be stated, as if in some silent arrangement to further her ammo against Mina. 

The blond girl merely grunted, her face hard and inflexible, a mirror image of Beverly's own prominent stubbornness that echoed through her face at all times, and danced ferociously behind her blue eyes. In some odd way, that infuriated her beyond belief, and she marched off quickly, Mina easily keeping pace with her long strides. 

At last, after what seemed to be an eternity, they reached their quarters, a fact that Beverly admitted grudgingly, and she tapped the access panel, entering in a wake of tumultuous fury, and pointed out everything in the room to Mina, who had seated herself onto Beverly's coverless bed, and was beginning to open her drawers. 

"Cadet Coldwell," began Beverly in a heated, furious voice, "Your things should be stored on the opposite side of the room. This is _my_ bed, and _my _storage areas." Had she not been afraid of expulsion, she would have decked the blond with her vicious fighting kick, as it was, she began to seriously contemplate it. 

"Oh." Mina began, her face a mask of childish innocence, "I thought I could have this bed. I just love to look out the window."

"So do I." Beverly countered. "Besides, that has been my bed since the first day of this year, which you missed, and I have not the slightest intention of giving it up now." She truthfully didn't and, for some odd reason, would have fought with every once of herself to keep her bed, just that, her bed. _Strange_, she mused, _it had never been all that important before_. If anything, it would have been dubbed a triviality. However, that was then, and this was now.

"There aren't any bedclothes on it, though, it's just a bare mattress." Mina's voice was pointed, matter of fact, stark. Beverly had found another thing to add to her list of grudges, which she almost felt a need to write down, it was growing so long.

"I am washing them." She stated in the same apathetic, uncaring voice.

"How do I know you aren't lying?" Mina asked.

"Trust me, I'm not." Said Beverly.

They stared at each other, unrelenting, for uncountable minutes, and, at last, Mina ceded to taking the opposite bed, jammed against a wall that was devoid of anything, save glistening whit paint.

"I'm going to make you miserable, Howard. If there is anything I believe in, it's revenge is sweet." Said Mina.

"Only to lemons." Countered Beverly, in a sickly sugar coated voice. 

"You're going to pay for this, Howard." Mina threatened evilly.

Beverly smiled in the impish way she sometimes had, and spoke her last words before leaving the room to get her forgotten laundry in an angelic voice. "Not in this lifetime."

The door shut on Mina's parting shots, leaving Beverly's most prominent source of displeasure locked behind it.


	3. Chapter 3

There was an open table in the dining room, and Beverly aimed straight for it, pretending not to notice the beckoning waves of her friends and classmates. She didn't feel like talking to them or eating right now, though she had gotten an apple from the replicator, in an effort not to look odd. The only thing she wanted to do right now was be alone, the same thing she had wanted for the past two weeks since Mina's arrival. That possibility, however, looked to be about as promising as the rest of her days had been lately: not at all.

All of the Cadets who had seen her enter, her anger draped over her like a shroud, stayed well away from her. Whether it was out of respect for her feelings, or out of fear, Beverly wasn't quite certain. Her luck ran out, however, when Cadet Data entered the room. Spotting a nearly empty table, he headed straight for it, seemingly unaware of the hostility the red head radiated. "Is this seat taken?" He asked the question with his customary politeness, and waited, patiently, for her answer. 

"No, not at all, Cadet Data, sit down, please." Data obliged willingly, and stared blankly into her frustrated face. He had met Beverly before, and, had he been human, he would have been positively worried at the abrupt disappearance of her normally light-hearted attitude. Seeing as he was, however, incapable of emotions, he merely asked, doing his best to sound concerned, "Is something troubling you, Cadet Howard?"

She moaned softly, and thrust her head into her pale hands, the knuckles turning white with strain. "You may call me Data." he said helpfully.

"Data," she began, sounding aghast and agitated, "The last two weeks have been the worst time of my entire stay here at the Academy, so far, and I don't think it will ever get any better." 

"Why is that, Beverly?" Though she hadn't given permission for the used of her first name, he took it in stride that that fact was largely, if not utterly, due to her audastic anger, and measurable despair.

"I got a new roommate, and she is simply aw…" her voice trailed off, and her gold skinned companion allowed his yellow eyes to follow her gaze across the spacious dining hall. "Oh no." she moaned, barely audibly, even to the android.

"What is it?" Data had no idea why the appearance of this particular Cadet could cause her to react so strongly, for he found no difference between her and the others that had recently entered. He observed everyone else's reactions intently, hoping to discover what had led to Beverly's sudden change. 

The room had suddenly become quieter, and the majority of the remaining voices were female, he noted. Many of the males had stopped eating, and were gazing intently at the newcomer, some letting unchewed food dangle from the corners of their mouths. Beverly continued to cradle her head in her hands. 

"That's her. That's Mina." She whispered, her voice brimming with clear contempt. "My roommate," she added as an afterthought, though it was rather unnecessary. 

"She appears to have provoked an emotional response amongst our fellow cadet's." he said, thought it was rather a moot point, he could tell from the look on her face she had, undoubtedly, known as much.

The blond woman headed in their direction, walking pointedly, each movement adding to the already thick cloud of snobbish attitude that seemed to bloom from her. She stopped curtly at the table's end, looked Beverly over with a glance, and said in a warm, open voice, "May I join you?" 

Data weighed the situation carefully, taking the matter from each vantage point, and decided to remain the mediator, if it came to that. He strongly suspected that if this obviously planned confrontation between the two women became a feud, they would keep it quiet, if only for the purpose of allowing it to continue, unannounced.

Beverly, for what it was worth, answered momentarily, as though she had been planning for this all along, a thought, Data presumed, not too far from the truth. "Actually, I wanted to be alone." Her voice was charming in a strange way, like sugar in coffee. 

Mina was dubious, and uncharmed. "You don't look like you're alone." Her voice was amused, and she looked as though she were considering launching an all out assault against Howard, who wore an exhausted, falsetto smile. 

"Well, mostly alone. Please, go sit somewhere else, we were in the middle of an important conversation." Beverly was lying through her teeth, and Data wasn't sure if Mina noticed or not. 

The android raised his hand, and opened his mouth to dispute Beverly's argument, and point out, that, they had, in fact, been talking about a problem which had now arisen, and, he felt, needed to be dealt with here and now. Her cold look stifled him, before the sound had even left his throat.

Neither woman moved, and the lounge grew measurably quieter as the Cadets awaited the moment when the preliminaries would end, and the real fighting begin. Data wasn't sure if they would even try to stop it, if, and when it did. The silence was deafening, and seemed to echo through the room, adding to the tension that was stretched so tightly it would have made a sound, had it been plucked. 

After what had seemed to be an eternity, though it had only been seconds, the door hissed open again, reveling an upperclassmen, and an outstretched arm behind him, though the latter never entered. The new arrival stalked, nearly marching, to the table, which had now been circled by fight eager cadets, and clapped his hands loudly. The circle dissipated, as onlookers slunk away to their tables, trying to catch glances at what had been their focal point.

"What is going on here?" There was a hard edge to his voice, the kind garnered only by the experience of dealing with problems of this sort. His eyes first took in Mina, eyes widening slightly, then receding once again into dark slits. He looked across the table to Howard, and spoke in a concerned, yet inflexible voice, that was filled with unasked questions. "Beverly?"

Her blue eyes filled with sadness for a moment, as though she had unintentionally hurt someone, and then returned to the rigid, unrelenting undercurrent. Her voice was like granite, and the room's temperature dropped by degrees when she acknowledged him, though, Data thought, the hostility was not intended toward the other man. "Walker."

The human reached across the table, and stretched his hand to her, giving her a moment to think about the unspoken question, which was an order more than anything. At last she, wisely, took it, and he pulled her away with such force that she almost lost her footing, which would have caused her dignity to crash around her as well.

At last they exited through the parting doors, and Walker breathed a sigh of profound relief that Beverly hadn't heard Mina's triumphant snort, and her sarcastic name calling. He pushed Beverly into the wall lightly, and stood over her, his voice penetrating the thick air in a knife of authority, to which she succumbed. "What the blazes was that for? Do you know that if there had been a security detail in there you would have landed in the CO's office, and then back on wherever you came from. You are one lucky kid."

His words stung her, like a dagger to the heart. She gulped loudly, and he backed away, giving her room to think. At last she spoke, her eyes flashing angrily. "I'm not a kid!" 

Keel exploded. "You are a kid. Just wait until you get out in the real world, and aren't floating through your first year anymore. See how grown up you feel then." He paused his lecture for breath, then continued, forcefully, "I didn't see anything in that cafeteria tonight that indicated to me that you were an adult. If you were, you wouldn't be fighting with your roommate. You can't get rid of her. There's nothing you can do. What crime did she commit against you anyway?"

"She," started Beverly, in a voice that sounded as though its soul purpose was ensuing combat, "Has been just plain rotten since the moment I met her. She tried to take my bed, and my side of the room. She is snobby and rude. And worst of all, she makes me feel like a nothing. Like I just don't matter."

"Beverly. It's going to be all right. These things happen. You two are just a bad match, like matter and antimatter. Put you together and, well...You had better watch out. This one may cost you the Academy, if you aren't careful. Think of it like handling a brain surgery, every move is potentially volatile, and the whole thing has to be done delicately, yet efficiently. Believe me, it will make you a better person."

Beverly looked disbelieving, and somewhat doubtful. Walker tried to break through her haze of frustration by introducing a new character into the plot. He hoped that didn't like to hold grudges against innocents for the crimes of others. "Now, to change the subject, and lighten things up, I know someone who I'd really like you to meet. Feel up to it?"

Apparently she was a master at holding grudges, although, he knew, he was guilty of this crime. "I don't know. Are you sure they were expecting a_ kid_?" The last word rolled off her tongue in a wave of sarcasm, which he chose to ignore. 

"Quite sure, although, I take back what I said, and I promise not to think of you as anything but an equal, saving, of course, formal protocol, from now on. Deal?" He extended his hand, and she somewhat grudgingly allowed a quick and perfunctory handshake, withdrawing her hand long before even professionalism had been exhausted. He sighed. She scowled.

Letting the moment lie dormant, he beckoned slowly with his right finger, and a man popped out of the shadows. He was tall, with a lanky, boyish frame, though well muscled. His brown hair was cut short, with a few strands crossing carelessly over the ill-done part. His hazel eyes glimmered with a vivid intelligence, and the grin spreading across his charming square-jawed face could only be called infectious. Beverly swallowed self-consciously.

Walker took a step forward, halting the assessment taking place between the two. "Beverly Howard, I would like you to meet Jack Crusher. Jack, Beverly." They shook hands lightly, cautiously drawing unspoken barriers, and stood about a meter apart, silent. Walker took it as a cue. "I have to study for my quantum mechanics test. See you guys later." He walked off quickly, rounding the bend in record time.

Beverly, who had always found taking charge of foreign situations to be a delightful activity, spoke first. "Eat?"

She had a plan working it's way through her head now. If Mina were to see her with Jack, who happened to be, in Beverly's eyes, one of the better looking Cadet's she had seen here at the Academy, perhaps her new roommates view of her would change. Maybe Mina would even have something to be jealous over. Beverly smiled, largely to herself.

"Not yet today, no." Jack answered. "But are you really sure you want to go back in there after what just happened, and I don't have enough money to go anywhere else around here..."

"We'll be fine. Don't worry. Come on." Bev led the way through the sliding door, with Jack following bewilderedly behind her. He was worried by this scheme, as the security detail had been off duty in the room for almost two hours now. To him, it was just inviting trouble.

Beverly walked deliberately to the food dispenser, and order a grilled cheese sandwich, another apple, and a glass of milk. Jack did the same, in a mild effort to impress her, and they walked together to an empty table near the trash receptacle. 

The two made an effort at pleasant conversation for a while, Beverly stealing glances at a table on a direct diagonal intercept course from them. 

"Say, isn't the Cadet Data's table?" Jack asked. "When did he get to be so popular?"

"It has nothing to do with Data." Beverly snapped the reply at him, and Jack was stung. 

"Sorry." he said sarcastically.

"For what?" 

She wasn't trying to be funny, she was serious. Jack decided she was preoccupied, and left it at that. He couldn't quite understand her. There were moments when she seemed like a great person, and then there were times like this, when she was so distracted, she probably wouldn't have noticed if he were to up and leave the table. It confused him enough, he was actually considering trying it. 

Suddenly, Beverly began talking with huge amounts of enthusiasm, flaring her arms, and waving her hands wildly in the air. Jack began to wonder if she was literally crazy when a girl about her age walked up, and stood next to him. Beverly sat silent, and just looked. Jack also sat silent, but he stared.

"Hi. I'm Mina Coldwell." she said as though gasping for breath, "I see you've taken an interest in Beverly. I wouldn't bother with her, if I were you." 

Jack, who's mind was now working at a much slower pace said "Hi." Then, suddenly, he seemed to snap out of it, and said, "Why?"

Mina leaned over and whispered something into Jack's ear that Beverly couldn't readily discern. Then she whispered "Bye." and went back to her table, throwing a triumphant glance at Beverly on the way.

"What did she tell you?" Jack said nothing. "_What did she tell you?_" Beverly demanded.

"Look, I have to go. I thought you were a nice person and all, but if I'd be helping you hurt Data by staying, then I think I'll just leave now." Jack looked appalled by the notion of Beverly's using him.

"**WHAT!!!"** She screamed as loud as she possibly could, and then lowered her voice to a semi-normal level. "You mean she told you I was dating Data?" Beverly had turned a peculiar shade of red by now, and she trembled in rage. Not even waiting for an answer, she stormed over to Mina's table, pulled her up by the front of the shirt, and introduced her fist to Mina's face. That done, she walked through the sliding door and into the hallway. 

Jack followed her, and ran in pursuit of her fleeing form, trying desperately not to lose her in the maze of hallways and dorm rooms. He didn't quite succeed, and, with head shaking, he walked back to his room.

* * *

Beverly was not happy, a fact which she was continually reminded of when she looked over at Mina's side of the room. She didn't understand how the other girl could be so rude to her, and, at the same time, so kind and warm-hearted to everyone else. Her plan had backfired, and now she would be the laughingstock of the Academy. 

She glanced at her own gleaming metal desk, and noticed a pile of disks lying atop it. Although studying was the last thing she wanted to do right now, she had responsibilities, and, for now, success was more important than whims of wanting to sleep, or to party, or to fight. Nothing could replace the time spent studying, she knew, and tomorrow's Terren Anatomy test promised to be a killer.

Troubled as she was, Beverly managed to log two hours, until she had sufficiently memorized the material.

As she turned off the light above her head, she noticed that Mina still hadn't come home. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Bev? Do you have the notes from yesterday? I forgot mine." Mina Coldwell leaned over the red head, trying to copy some last minute information before their exam.

"Mina, please. I'm trying to study, and I can't with you looking over my shoulder." Beverly Howard's words came out in a whisper through her clenched teeth. Professor Jarcok had given them two minutes of review time, but if she caught them talking, it would be an automatic zero, for both girls.

"Bever_ly_, I'm going to fail without your help! Come on roomy." Mina was talking louder than before, and Bev was almost certain that they'd get caught any moment. With a sigh, she turned her head to the left, and spoke to her roommate, whom she was growing less fond of by the minute, in a firm voice.

"Mina, shut up. If you wanted to do well on the test, you should have paid attention in the first place, instead of just assuming I would give you all the material." She turned back to her computer PADD, groaning as Jarcok signaled the end of time with a short ring on his ancient bell.

"Cadets," he began in his flat, boring lecture voice, "I am very disappointed in a few of you." His gaze fell on Howard, and her cheeks flushed every shade from peach to crimson. "Some of you," he continued, after a moment's hesitation, "don't seem to know what the words 'study quietly' mean." Several other fell under his eye, and Beverly let out a sigh of relive. "From now on, there will be no more review time in this classroom, is that clear?" Jarcok's gaze was hard and firm, and it didn't move an inch, even when the room sighed collectively. "For those of you not guilty of these crimes, I'm sorry. Perhaps you should discuss proper behavior with your peers. This is Starfleet, people, not grammar school." He turned to the window, and said, only half aloud, "I don't see a playground, does anyone else?" The question, which wasn't a question at all, remained unanswered.

No one spoke as Jarcok handed out the tests, they were all too grateful at his decision not to fail them. They set to work, and Beverly could feel sweat droplets forming on her face as she concentrated on the questions, trying to remember all of the material she had gone over countless times the night before. 

At last she finished all of the questions, sat back, and waited for the rest of the class to complete their exams. She had done fairly well, no blank spaces, all answers somewhat logical. Her placement depended on how the rest of the class had fared. 

"Okay, Cadets, scores are up." Jarcok sounded as though he could care less, a fact Beverly would not be surprised at in the least if it were true. There was a cluster at the front of the room, and she had to wait through several groups of people before she could see the screen. The results were factored not only be time used, but by number of correct answers. Her student number, JK-76580, was third on the list. Numbers were supposed to be confidential, but there was no doubt in her mind who the second place was. 

Mina cast her a superior glance, and Beverly felt a rush of anger to her already flushed cheeks. Students all around her were moaning in frustration, and one girl on the far side was whacking herself on the head with her hand. Bev watched and listened to her for a moment. "How could I (whack) be so (whack) stupid? (whack) (whack) (whack). I'll never (whack) pass this class! (whack) (whack)."

She felt a twinge of sorrow for the girl, and threaded her way through the group until she was standing by her. She was unsure of what to say at first, so she just stood nearby, waiting for her to say something. Several moments passed, and at last she began talking. "Hi, I'm Beverly Howard, I don't think we've met yet."

The girl looked up at her slowly, seeming almost to stare through her. Beverly shivered slightly. "Korbin, Korbin Hessful. Do you think you could help me out with this stuff, I just don't understand it?"

She smiled at her. She was interesting looking, soft of boyish almost, slightly messy long blandish hair, strange, almost glowing green eyes. "Sure. Sometime after dinner tonight?"

"Why don't I just meet you at o-nineteen-hundred-hours in the dining room?"

"Deal. See you." Beverly smiled at her once more, shook her head softly, and walked back to the screen, waiting for a chance to apologize to Jarcok for her rudeness earlier. 

Several minutes passed before the professor appeared, and when he did, his face was red, his eyes wild with anger, and he was looking straight at her. She nearly fainted. When he spoke his voice was like sandpaper, and he nearly screamed "Howard, you're wanted in the superintendent's office, on the double!"

She didn't know what to make of it, and her confusion kept her from thinking clearly, so she stood still, as though anchored to that spot by some strange force, though, in a sense, she was. He spoke again, the intense madness doubled, "What are you waiting for, an escort? I said leave, and that is a direct order! Don't you know how to follow orders? Good. Now go, or you can kiss Starfleet good-bye."

Beverly didn't need any further prompting. She left as fast as her feet could carry her, without, of course, running. Something told her she was in enough trouble anyway.

* * * 

The reception room was just as Beverly remembered it, from the first two times she had gotten herself in trouble since the beginning of her first year. Her probation had just worn off, and she had a sickening feeling that she was about to get another one, and this time Claire wouldn't be there to help.

Her old roommate, who had recently quit the Academy to pursuit her career elsewhere, had been the one who had gotten her into most of the trouble in the first place, and therefore had suffered the punishment right along side her. The though of Mina and her staying up late on weekends when everyone else was out caused her to snort. A hard glare from the gigantic security officer silenced her.

After what seemed like hours, Admiral Parsons called her inside. He was new, different from her old supervisor, in fact a replacement due to an illness on the other Admiral's part, Beverly gulped involuntarily. "Sir," she began uncertainly, "have I done something wrong?"

His voice was unpleasant, and, given the chance, she would have run to her quarters and locked the door, however, she doubted that option would present itself anytime soon. "Have you done something wrong? Why else would I call you down here? This isn't preschool. Since when would someone here say, 'Congratulations, Cadet Howard, you just got third place in your class, how would you like to celebrate?' I don't think so."

Beverly was nervous now. _Mina must have told on me for punching her, _she realized. She stood silently, letting him leak the information to her at whatever speed he liked, although it was quite obvious he enjoyed giving it as slowly and painfully as possible. "How long did you study for your exam last night, Ms. Howard? An hour, two? Answer me!"

"Two hours, Sir." She did not offer further information, for to do so would just open herself up to further complications. As it was, she could barely take this. 

"Don't lie to me! I know exactly how long your studying took, Cadet! Two hours, please, be realistic."

"Sir, I am telling the facts as they are, nothing more, nothing less." Definitely not her normal attitude, but she was fighting her boiling anger down with every word, trying to make this crazy conversation sound logical somehow.

"Try not at all, Howard! You didn't crack a book! Spent all of the time you were supposed to be working hanging around in the dining room, improving your social life! This comes first!"

Beverly was confused, and extremely upset. It took every once of her not to cry, as it was the tears had settled atop her lower eyelids. "Sir, why am I being falsely accused of this? Doesn't my score prove to you that I spent quite some time reviewing the material."

Parsons glared at her with undisguised anger. "What your scores show, Cadet Howard, is that you cheated. Plain and simple, or, as you say, nothing more, nothing less."

Beverly tried to sound adult, but her voice gave away the fact that she would like nothing more than to run away and cry on her Grandma's shoulder. "With all due respect, Sir, what evidence do you have?"

Parsons's bald spot gleamed brightly in the intense, harsh lighting. He said nothing, just turned the computer screen to face her. On it were two test, identical except for the times, one was slower by about three seconds. Hers. "Is it not true that Cadet Mina Coldwell sits directly next to you in your Terran Anatomy class?"

"Yes, Sir." She gulped out the words in a choked voice, as though she were drowning in the tears which were now making their way down her cheeks.

"Are these answers, including wrong ones, not exactly identical?" His eyes were unforgiving, his tone unreadable, except for the slight undercurrent of anger, which he had hidden surprisingly well.

"Yes, Sir." Beverly felt much like a parrot, speaking the same phrase time and again, as though any other choice of words was beyond her, which, in a sense, it was.

"In fact," he started again, and she had to force herself to listen, "The only difference would be the times, and yours appears to be slower, suggesting that either you copied from Cadet Coldwell, or there is some kind of psychic link between the two of you. I don't believe that garbage for a moment. However, what I do believe is that wrong-doers should be punished."

He paused for what seemed like an eternity, and Beverly waited, her heart falling into her standard issue boots. "You, Cadet Howard, are on serious probation. That would be set lights out times, constant supervision, and no leaving the grounds for the next three months, do I make myself clear?"

The parrot inside of her spoke again, in a voice as defeated and saddened as she had ever heard herself use. "Yes, Sir."

"There's a great big universe waiting for you, Cadet. Space is a cold, unforgiving thing. Maybe its time for you to get that mirror away from you face, and stop going _me me me me_ and think about everyone else for a change. When you get out on a ship somewhere, everything is just going to pass you by, life doesn't revolve around you. The only officers who succeed in Starfleet are those who do their duties efficiently, and however they are asked to do them. Cheating is not an option. Do you want to be left behind, Cadet?"

The parrot disappeared, and her mental image was of a defeated Beverly Howard slinking home to the moldy stone house she and her Grandma had lived in for the past few years. She could see the disappointed scowl on the old woman's face, and hear her point out that it wasn't the end of the world, even though their mutual thought would be that it was a fairly good start. She straightened visibly, and the old defiance and stubborn will that drove her returned. "No, Sir, I do not."

"Very good Cadet, very good indeed. Strong personality is a good trait for any officer."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Quiet, Cadet. When I mean to compliment you, I'll give you notice."

The parrot was back. "Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

"Yes, Sir, " she chirped obediently.

"Oh, and Cadet? One more slip, in the next seven-and-a-half years, and you're gone. There's a little button right here that says 'delete' and it only takes a nanosecond to press it, and _poof_, you never existed, as far as Starfleet is concerned. Is that clear?"

"Clear as glass, Sir."

"When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you, Cadet. Now get out of here, or I may hit the little button a bit early."

Suddenly, her quarters looked like a very inviting place to go, despite that Mina, whom Beverly was most certain had created this problem somehow, might be there. She left with no further delay.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why did you do it! I can't believe you could possibly be so stupid. Do you know that now, thanks top you, I'm locked up in this place for the next three months and I have a bedtime? _Why did you do it!?!"_

Beverly gasped for breath after making her speech to Mina, and then sat on her bed, trembling in rage and frustration.

Mina simply smiled and said "Do what?" Then she rose and sat next to Beverly. "What happened Beverly? You never showed up for the second class. I was _so_ worried about you." She said it in a way that told Beverly she wasn't worried at all.

"You cheated, and now you make me look like the liar. I can't believe you would do something like this to me. I just can't believe it." Beverly moaned and thrust her head in her hands.

"It was fairly simple really." Mina began. "All I had to do was put my data pad on your desk. Then you did my test, with my number, through my transfer link, and I copied off you, with your PADD, through your number and transfer link. That way, I was done last, and you looked like you cheated. It worked perfectly. I knew you wouldn't check the number at the top, and I changed my access codes to match yours. Brilliant, wasn't it."

Beverly, furious though she was, had to admit that it was brilliant, and that she couldn't have come up with anything better if she tried. Still, though...

"You're going to pay for this Mina. Nothing you can say or do could ever cause me to change my mind, or make us friends now. You ruined the rest of my stay here, and I think it's only fair that I ruin yours."

Mina was quiet, and had no reply, something that enraged the already past agitated Beverly beyond belief. Saying nothing, she walked through the doors as they parted for her, as if aware of her fury.

* * *

The dining room was nearly empty, and far quieter than it had been at the same time last night. Beverly smiled gratefully, pulling a chair up against a small table, waiting for a past due Korbin.

She opened the file in her data PADD, eyes boring through it, lost deep in thought.   
Truthfully, she didn't feel like studying, or even socializing tonight, but a promise was a promise, and her word was a s good as ever it had been.

The door opened moments later, Korbin blowing through in a gust of hurried footsteps. She looked around for a moment, blond hair flapping across that prominent forehead, and stepped towards the waiting girl, tripping over the chair legs at each turn.

Beverly felt like laughing...or moaning.

"Um, Uh, Ha Ha. Hey Bev. Can I call you Bev? Or Maybe I'll stick with Beverly. Yeah, definitely Beverly. Anyway, what's up?" Korbin looked around nervously, as if expecting lightning to strike her dead.

Beverly rolled her eyes, silently wondering why she had felt sorry for the pathetic girl standing slumped in front of her. _Cursed with a good heart_ she though, contemplating weather or not to mumble it out loud.

"Sit down Korbin. I've had kind of a rough day, you could say. How about you?" Beverly scowled. Korbin leaned forward conspiritally, as though the red head were revealing the secrets of the universe to her.

"What happened? Did you break up with your boyfriend? Oh, wait, I know. Your boyfriend cheated on you. No, you have two boyfriends. That's it! Two boyfriends, and they just found out about each other! They didn't even know each other, and they became friends. Then, suddenly, they began talking about their girlfriends, and, what a shock, their only one had two one and onlys. Am I right?"

Beverly sat silent, eyes wide as saucers, a bewildered expression covering her face. "_What?_ I don't even _have_ a boyfriend. Where did you come up with that?" She couldn't believe this. First she was cheating on a test, now she was cheating on boyfriends she didn't even have.

'Well, it _could_ happen. It does on the holodeck." Korbin said shyly, looking up at Beverly, but unable to meet her gaze, fearing the repercussions.

"Korbin, it's okay, I let my imagination run away with me all the time too, and, usually, my mouth goes with it and they both get me in trouble. Not that that's what happened today..." She let her voice trail off, surprised that she was inviting this discussion.

"What happened today? What really made it so bad? I won't tell anyone, I promise." Korbin's eyes were gentle, those of a true listener. 

"Professor Jarcok accused me of cheating on the exam. He sent me to Admiral Parsons, who said that I copied off Mina, thinking I could get away with it, so I would have had time to "Improve my social life last night," which is exactly what Mina was doing while I was busy studying for the test that I should have passed, but now failed because of her."

There, it was all out. She sighed, uncertain if it was relief or the first indications of insanity.

"That is absolutely ridiculous. What happens now, you just failed that test?" Korbin sat, semi-patiently awaiting her response.

"Well, if it hadn't been for my past history here, it might have been that simple. You see, I used to have another roommate named Claire, Claire Voy. Did you know her."

Korbin shook her head.

"No, well, she and I were great friends, but she was a bit of a troublemaker, and I was always getting caught up in her schemes. She quit, and just recently I came off my latest probation. Now this comes along, and," Beverly deepened her voice, trying to imitate Admiral Parsons, "One more screw up in the next seven and a half years, and you're out of here."

"Who's out of here?" Tafton Hosgerb, a human classmate of theirs, had just walked through the sliding doors, hearing the last line of Beverly's monologue.

"Me." Bev stated, gesturing to Korbin, letting her tell the story, hoping it would come out semi-truthfully.

"Uh...It was Jarcock, and he was sitting in the dining room. No, that's not it. Okay, um it was still Jarcock, and he was walking down the hall, and he saw Beverly. No, no. He was standing in the classroom, and he walked up to Beverly, and told her to go to her quarters, I mean the office."

Tafton looked slowly at Beverly, in disbelief. Beverly nodded, slowly and painfully.

"So Jarcock told Beverly to go to the office." Tafton summarized, hoping to put the poor confused girl back on track. The Chous were, in all fairness, a race known for their absentmindedness.

"Yeah, and then the Admiral. He said she was studying the dining room, I mean, she wasn't studying, she was improving her social life in the dining room. Now she's on probation for seven and a half minutes." Korbin finished proudly, not noticing the strange look on Tafton's face.

"Years," Beverly whispered, leaning over to her confused friend, being sure not to hurt the other girl's feelings.

Tafton nodded briefly, and didn't say another word.

The door slid open again, reveling Lennie and Scott, two of Tafton and Beverly's friends, and then Jack and Walker.

"Ooh, Beverly, upper classmen." the brunette girl whispered teasingly.

"Shut up, Tafton."

"Hello ladies, how are you this evening?" Scott had a terrible falsetto accent. Beverly cringed. Tafton gagged. Korbin stared intently at her scuffed boots.

"Sit down guys." Beverly said, introducing Jack and Walker to the group. Jack sat next to her, she noticed.

"Hey Bev, tough break." Lennie said sympathetically.

The other three nodded in agreement.

Beverly glared daggers at Jack.

"Wasn't me." He shrugged helplessly.

"That" said Walker, "Is what drinking glasses next to walls are for."  
They all laughed as Beverly swooped her arm across the table in a mock attempt to hit him, causing him to fall backwards off the chair as he faked blocking her.

When everything had quieted down, Lennie asked, "So, what are you going to do about it? Did she confess to you?"

"Yeah. Shocked me. But, anyway, there's not much I can do." Beverly thought she was being logical.

"You're right," Scott said, "You're pretty much trapped here for the next eight years. I'd say that fairly well takes care of everything." That statement was far more reasonable.

"Okay, then, how do we get her to tell he actual truth. Why would she suddenly fess up now, when she would be in more trouble than ever. Her story is perfect."

"Yeah," agreed Lennie. "It is the perfect story. But, stories have to have proof to back them up."

"What do you mean," asked Tafton, who was as bewildered as Korbin had been earlier.

"He means," said Scott, "That someone had to have seen Beverly in the dining room or somewhere that night..."

"And no one saw Mina!" Jack interjected. "You're right. There's no alibi. If you want to win, you have to have evidence."

Beverly nodded slowly. She could see where this was going.

"Okay, then," Korbin spoke up. "Let's all get together and find people who saw Mina in the dining room, and people who saw Beverly go into her room and study."

"It happened yesterday, right?" asked Walker. 

Beverly nodded. "I was studying from eight until ten. She was partying." She couldn't say it without a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice.

"Okay then, we're set." said Walker. "I'm in charge of the investigation. Jack, Tafton and I will take the upper classmen. Lennie, Scott and Korbin get the underclassmen."

"What about me?" asked Beverly.

"Stay out of it." Jack and Walker answered together.

"You'll only make it worse," said Walker.

Beverly's face contorted, and her eyes took on a look of pure hurt.

"He means you're to close to the incident, both emotionally and physically, to be able to see it for what it really is. Just give up on it...for now," Jack said.

"But when you give up on something, you just become an observer," Beverly noted.

"Exactly." Said Walker.

"Thanks guys, I mean it. This is the best thing anyone's ever done for me. Really." said Beverly. "I'd love to stay, but my bed time is in five minutes. Lucky me." She made a face, and walked off to the door.

The group all began to disperse after that, each discussing his or her own plans for extracting information from the other Cadets. 

Jack had been talking with Walker, but, suddenly, he veered off to the right, toward the door. 

"Where are you going now?" asked Walker.

Jack gave him a dirty look.

"I'll leave the light on for you. Don't be too late." Walker's voice was high and squeaky. He blew Jack a mock kiss.

Jack ran off.

* * * 

Beverly walked briskly down the corridor, knowing that any second now her time would be up, and Admiral Parsons would hit the "Little red button" before she even had a chance to appeal.

She barely even noticed when she heard a voice call her name. There was no time to turn around. She was down to seconds. She might make it, as long as she never looked back.

The door whooshed open with one second to spare. The computer clicked as she pressed her fingers to the time panel, her own personal brig guard.

The door chirped moments later. She ignored it, figuring it was Mina. She could let herself in. Beverly didn't see any reason to hand out favors. 

A minute passed before the chime rang out again. Beverly ignored it again, though this time she had to force herself. It could be important. She pretended to be asleep.

One last time, the buzzer gave a valiant effort, and still Beverly lay quietly in her bed. There was quiet, and hen the fall of footsteps. She was almost disappointed when there were no more chimes.

She wasn't disappointed for long. Mina swept into the room. "Hello Beverly. Isn't it a bit early for bed?" 

"What are you doing home then?" Beverly asked. Her voice was smug, but it was a valid question.

"I have to get my beauty rest before my big date tomorrow," the other girl said.

"Wow Mina. Isn't that a risk?" asked Beverly, sounding aghast.

" What?" asked Mina.

"You should have started last week. Then at least you would have had a chance. Now though...Alas, there is no hope." 

That said, Beverly was quiet, letting Mina's muffled insults lull her to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"Did any one find out anything?" Beverly asked over an early breakfast the next morning. She was dreading going back to Jarcock's class, but at least some measure of ammo against Mina would make it a bit more bearable.

"Our main focus was Data." said Lennie. "We knew Mina was over by him that night, and we also know he never lies. At least that takes care of her story. As for you though, we still don't have any proof."

Jack cut in. "You see, Beverly, there is no proof you were in your quarters that night. True, everyone says you weren't in the dining room, but this is a big complex. You could have been anywhere."

"But, Jack," whined Beverly, "You saw me go to my quarters." It was her last desperate hope. She could only wish.

Jack sighed. "Unofficially, yes, I saw you head for your quarters, and my presumption was that you were going o them. Officially, however, I couldn't go on record to say you 'went to them', as I never saw you do such a thing. Besides, I'm your friend. What good would it do? Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand. I only wish it could be different." She sighed mightily, and turned her attention to a blob of yellowish eggs.

There was a silence in the room as each contemplated what to do. Tafton changed the subject.

"We missed you last night. Everyone as talking about what happened. It was the main topic at this party we all went to..." Suddenly her voice dropped off. Walker moved his hand back and forth near his throat. The brunette girl realized she had said too much.

"Yeah," said Beverly. "I'm sure you all missed me a lot." There were tears welling in her blue eyes, and she fought hard to restrain them. It was a terrible feeling to be left out. "I have to leave. I definitely do not want to be tardy." With that she scooped up her books and he headed for the doors, walking through as they parted.

Once in the halls, she let the tears flow freely, and they soon evaporated into anger. She felt utterly alone in the crowded hallway. No one seemed to care about her at all. She knew everyone had heard. They clearly did not want to be seen with her. Why tarnish their reputations as well?

"Beverly, wait up!" She heard the voice call from down the hall, but didn't acknowledge it. If this was some sorry excuse for an apology, she didn't want to hear it. 

"Bev, I want to talk to you," the voice pleaded, but she still ignored it. She knew there was nothing she wanted to hear in that pitiful requiem.

"Cadet Howard. Talk to me. Now." There was a touch of finality in how the voice said "now." It halted her in her tracks.

"Walker, I don't want to talk right now. Please leave me alone." She sighed, and turned to face him. "Jack?" Her voice was a whisper of surprise.

"Beverly, I just wanted to tell you that I didn't go to that party last night. I was following you, but you didn't see me. I tried your door, and you didn't answer. I wanted to tell you something." He was quiet for a moment, so she probed a question at him.

"What? I don't have time for this," She added, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I wanted to tell you that I'll believe you, no matter what happens. I think Mina's a fake, and I know you're for real." He smiled.

"Thanks Jack." Her smile was brief. She was still angry about the night before. "I have to go. Sorry." She walked off, not even waiting to hear his reply.

He sighed, and went the other way


	7. Chapter 7

Beverly arrived for her first class of the morning way ahead of schedule. She had been a good student her whole life, and had rarely ever been tardy, but coming to class this early was a concept that seemed very foreign to her. She supposed that she had better get used to the idea. Admiral Parsons had seen to it that her social life was all but over.

Professor Apprecel stood at the front of the room, her back to the small group of students who had already found their seats as well as the small stream of those who were still entering. Beverly looked at the incoming trickle with envy. How she longed just to be one of them again, happy and carefree, hoping to make it from one place to another, but not in fear of dire consequences if their plans were unexpectedly waylaid. She felt the tears stinging her eyes, and fought to push them back. She was a Howard. Howard women did not cry because they had to follow the rules.

She stopped and mulled over her last thought. it wasn't the fact that she had to follow the rules that troubled her. She felt that she would be able to digest her punishment if the incriminating action had been one that she had truly undertaken. It was the knowledge that she was an innocent that made her want to break down, screaming and crying with frustration and rage. She didn't hate her punishment so much as she hated the way in which it had changed her, the way in which it had made her view herself as the victim of some gross injustice. She had never wanted to be the victim. Even with all the horror and atrocity that had come before in her life, she had never wanted pity. 

Thankfully, the bell sounded from above, tearing Beverly away from her self serving thoughts. Things would be different here, she thought. Professor Apprecel was a kind woman, smart enough not to judge on the sayings of others. Beverly knew that she would decide for herself whether or not her student was guilty.

"Cadet Howard," the woman inquired from the front of the room, her dark Betazoid eyes staring piercingly at Beverly as the girl rose from her seat. She gulped down a wave of fear. "Ah, there you are," she said, not smiling. "I have assigned you a new seat for the remainder of the term. Please move yourself and your belongings."

the woman's finger quivered ever so slightly as she pointed to an empty chair that sat in solitude, close enough to Apprecel's desk that Beverly would be able to hear the professor breathing. _So much for justice_ she thought grimly to herself. Wishing that, for just this one instance, Apprecel would bend her own morals and read what was going on inside Beverly's troubled mind. She wished that someone, anyone with the power to change the way her life was turning out would know of her innocence.

* * * 

"Jack…"

The voice seemed to be coming from somewhere far away, floating on the light breeze that was whipping its way around the campus. It was as vague and distant as the light smell of Martian Lilacs to Jack Crusher, who was holding an Advanced Command Strategies data chip in his left hand and a data PADD in his right, trying to cut through the cloudy haze of a daydream and remember how to use the devices.

"Jack…"

There was that voice again, louder and more insistent this time. Somewhere in his subconscious, he wondered if he should pay it any heed, or if he should simply continue to sit here, soaking up the unseasonably warm sun and studying. that was what he was doing, after all. Now, if only he could clear his mind enough to remember how to switch the chips in this device..

"Jack! Hello. Is anyone home?"

"Ow!" Crusher yelped as Walker's fist slammed into his arm, jolting him from the dreamy haze in which he had been sitting. The two cadets were enjoying a free period, and had been using it to catch up on some studying, and to do some investigating. "What did you do that for," he asked, irritated.

"I was trying to tell you about how my investigation has been going, and you were just sitting there staring into space like a lovesick tribble. As soon as I mentioned Beverly's name, you were practically drooling on yourself." Walked raised an eyebrow at him but said no more.

"I was not," Jack said indignantly. "Beverly is my friend."

"Uh huh," said Walker, rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, what were you saying before. I have so much on my mind lately. It's hard to keep all of these classes straight."

Walker grinned like a child catching another raiding the cookie jar, but said no more about Jack's latest "friendship". "I've been looking through the databases for instances in which scenarios like this have previously occurred. Two years ago, another cadet played a similar trick on his roommate, and was caught by time-based DNA fingerprinting."

"What are we waiting for," Jack practically knocked Walker flat, bounding to his feet. "Let's go get Beverly, find Mina, and bring their data PADDS to that old badger Parsons. Then he'll know who the real cheater is."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Walker said, hating to deflate the enthusiasm which had welled up in his friend's eyes. 'In that case, the two were of different species, one reptilian based and one mammalian based. That made things a little easy. also, the decision was made right away, not days later. the student in question had an unblemished record, and the perpetrator had been a part of several similar incidents. I'm afraid Beverly's files aren't exactly sterling.

Jack bit his lip, a long standing habit when confronted with unpleasant and frustrating situations. "Now what," he asked.

"Now we keep up with what we were doing. Keep questioning cadets, and working out plausible explanations for what really happened. Even though we know what went wrong, we have to convince the Admirals that it's the truth. If it is the truth," Walker said.

"What do you mean by that," Jack's eyes were filled with fiery anger.

"Look, Jack," said walker. "I don't think Beverly cheated, she's a smart girl, and she's not the type. But her version of events could be a tad one-sided; most people tend to see themselves in a different light than the rest of the world does. I don't think she's a liar, but the truth could lie somewhere in the middle, and that's where I'm looking for it."

"Look there all you want," said Jack "but you'll never find it. I'll make sure not to tell Beverly you doubted her when we get to the bottom of this. She's the most real person I've met in a long time, and Mina's about the biggest fake there is. I can't try to make you feel the same way, but I think the magic loses its luster when you discover it was done with smoke and mirrors." That said, he stalked off, looking for a little truth of his own.

* * * 

Tafton, Beverly and Korbin sat at a corner in the dining room, discussing the latest repercussions of Beverly's supposed crime. "I can't believe she did that to me." Beverly was practically howling, and her two companions exchanged worried glances. Tafton reached across the table for her friend's hand, trying to elicit some degree of damage control before the red head's temper got the better of her and she went on a rampage.

"It's all right Bev. The whole thing will blow over in a few days. Just give it a chance." Tafton's voice was soothing, but Beverly glared icy daggers at her friend.

"Sure it will. As soon as everyone has alienated themselves from me, and I have no one left to turn to but my books and the little voice in my head that keeps pitying itself, then it will blow over." She paused for breath, and the continued in a voice saturated with more pure venom than either of her two companions would have ever thought possible. "I suppose you all have another gala event to attend this evening. One that will prevent you from helping me outs no doubt. Won't it be too bad that Beverly can't be there? You might think that for a moment or too, but then you'll forget. I'm sure Mina will be there, spreading her lies and destroying what little dignity I have left." She scowled deeply, and looked away from the table, her gaze resting on the open doorway as they she were keeping vigil for any sign of her roommate. Korbin found herself giving silent thanks that cadets were not allowed sidearms.

"Oh Beverly, come off it," Tafton snarled, deeply wounded by her friend's accusations. "You can be furious with Mina all you want, and I'll back you up on that, but there's no reason to take it out on us. We're doing what we can to help you, but there only so much that can be done. I'm sorry you got punished, truly I am, but I'm not going to spend the rest of my days here in exile because someone played a nasty prank on you. Now, I'm no counselor, and I won't even pretend to be a philosophy major, that kind of thing was always a little deeper than I liked to reach, but its time for you to quit wallowing in your own self pity. All that does is make you reek with the stench of defeat. Okay, so you got screwed, to use an archaic but once popular earth vernacular, but we all do once in a while. Life goes on, sister. Pick yourself up, swallow your pride, and plan your next steps. No matter what your friends do, they can never make a difference if you don't even try to help yourself."

Beverly opened her mouth to protest, but a chilly look from the brunette silenced her. Howard's lips twitched in rage. _How dare she say things like that,_ she thought. _ How dare she accuse me of such things? What gives her the right to tell me how to live my life? How dare she…. How dare she…. How dare she…. tell the truth._ the last realization hit Beverly like a ton of bricks. She had been behaving like a whining, whimpering nursery school child ever since Mina had played her dirty little trick. But, like Walker had told her the night before the incident, she was an adult now. It was time to start behaving like one.

She opened her mouth to speak again, and Korbin grimaced. Beverly half-smiled. "Don't worry, I won't bite anyone's head off this time. You're right, Tafton. Now, tell me, what can I do for me…"


	8. Chapter 8

Beverly Howard walked into the superintendent's office, chest puffed out and head held high. It was not a position of pride, but one of self-confidence and the authority that can only come with the knowledge that one is undisputedly innocent of their professed crime.

'I need to speak to admiral Parson's immediately," she told the bored looking Ensign behind the desk.

"Do you have an appointment," the young man asked in a voice that told her he had no time for the petty trivialities of her life.

"No, but it is an urgent matter." She had discussed the plan Korbin, Tafton and herself had concocted with Lennie and Scott, both of whom had thought it a good idea, but had also warned Beverly not to back down. She wished she could have run through it with Walker, but she had been unable to find him. Even more, she wished she could have talked it over with Jack. She just wished she could have talked with Jack.

"Make an appointment and come back tomorrow," he monotoned in a way that told her he spent more time repeating this phrase than he did saying anything else.

"I'll just wait here until the Admiral becomes available," Beverly said, moving towards an empty chair.

"Suit yourself," the Ensign said, turning away from her. It irked her that he hadn't even seen fit to check for any possible opening in the Admiral's schedule, but she reminded herself again that this was the right thing to do.

It seemed like hours before the door to the admiral's office opened and he stepped through the threshold, his bald head gleaming in the overhead light. "Wilson," he barked at the young man, who had suddenly become the poster child of alert eagerness. "get me those files on the Barouke incident, and set up a meeting with security officer Chalmers."

"Aye sir," Wilson stated. 'Is there anything else I can do for you sir."

the Admiral pondered this for a moment. "Yes, download my logs to the main computer. They're due in on Friday, and I haven't the time to mess with them."

"Aye sir," Wilson repeated.

The Admiral turned back towards his office. For a split second, Beverly wondered if Wilson would announce her presence. Judging by the supercilious grin he gave her, she decided that was a very remote possibility. "Admiral," she said, springing to attention as the word left her mouth. "A moment of your time please." It was not a demand, but it was not an inquiry either. 

"Cadet Howard," he said, his voice betraying his feelings. "How nice of you to drop by. Unfortunately, I am rather busy this afternoon, and will be unable to meet with you. Feel free to set up an appointment for next week with Ensign Wilson. Howard could almost hear the younger man saying "I told you so."

"This will only take a moment, Admiral-"

"A moment that I do not have, Cadet. Good day." The door started to slid shut, the pneumatic device concealed within hissing. 

Beverly leapt forward with the grace only a dancer possesses and stepped through the door before it could fully close upon itself. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but I really need a moment."

The Admiral looked at her carefully, as though seeing her for the first time. He was intrigued by the difference in the Howard he saw before him and the Howard who had sat before him wringing her hands together just two days ago. In a moment of uncharacteristic curiosity, he decided to give her a moment. But only a moment.

He nodded curtly for her to begin, making no effort to hide the penetrating gaze he gave his chronometer. He cleared his throat. "Computer, set countdown. Three minutes. Audible alert every thirty seconds."

"Ready," the feminine voice told him softly.

"Begin."

Taking that as her cue, Beverly started. "Admiral, I fear the judgment you have provided for me is unfair, and was made in haste." She paused a moment, but he made no move to reply and she continued. "I feel that you did not spend enough time reviewing the facts, and relied on the evidence provided alone, regardless of any testimony that may have negated that evidence."

"Really," he said, in a voice that told her he really did not care.

"Yes, Admiral. I realize that your schedule is hectic, but I implore you to listen to testimony from parties on both sides of this issue, and then, taking these into account, make your final judgment.

He stared at her as the computer continued to count down. She gulped, but refused to so much as blink. He waited for her to shrink in cowardice under his glare. For a full minute, he stared into her deep blue eyes, and when she did not look away, he made her an offer. "All right Cadet. Your resolve has earned you a hearing. That is all. Your punishment remains as it was. make an appointment with Mr. Wilson as you leave. You have one week."

"Thank you, sir."

"We'll see," he said as the computer announced the expiration of the allotted time.


	9. Chapter 9

Jack Crusher was standing outside the office, waiting for her. "Tafton told me I could find you here."

Beverly smiled, finding it came easily and felt warm upon her face. "She did, did she?"

"Well," Crusher said, "there was a scary moment when I thought you were being expelled." Beverly looked at him quizzically. "I asked Korbin where you were," he explained. "Tafton cleared it all up for me, though."

She didn't reply, only nodded and continued to walk down the corridor. He fell into step beside her, surprised at how long her strides were. After a moment, he broke the silence. "So, how did things go?"

"All right, I guess." Beverly felt drained after her verbal showdown with Admiral Parsons. All of the self-confidence she had exuded in the man's office had drained away without a trace.

Jack stopped, grabbed her shoulder gently, and spun her around. His gaze penetrated deep into her eyes, and she felt herself shiver. "Talk to me, Beverly." His voice was soft, inviting her to share with him all the pain she harbored in her heart.

For a moment he feared she would turn and run, leaving him to stare after her as she retreated away into her private world. Slowly, with tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes, she told him about her day. He grew angry as he listened to the treatment her teachers had given her, the way she had been snubbed by her classmates, and the rudeness that Parsons's assistant had shown his friend. He had half a mind to cut Beverly off, storm back to that office, and give that arrogant jerk what was coming to him. He knew that would only make things worse, though, so with a considerable effort he breathed deeply, and let Beverly finish her story.

"Then I came out here, and it was like that brave façade just melted away, and I was back to being who I was again. I wasn't string and brave anymore. I was a nervous, frustrated wimp, I was…" She searched for the adequate words, but Jack provided them for her.

"Human?" He said.

She smiled a very slight, very small smile. But it was a smile. "Yeah, that," she said, her voice a horse whisper.

They stood there for a moment, and then it was Beverly's turn to break the silence. "I feel like I'm trapped, like I got shoved into a corner, and there's no way out. Even with the hearing coming up, I just feel like no matter what I do, it can't ever get better. I can only wade deeper in until the only escape is by giving up and going under." Beverly was very close to tears now, he could see it. There had to be something he could say or do.

"Bev, I won't let you go under and drown in a sea of problems. I won't swim back to shore and leave you there, and I sure as sapphires won't put my foot on your head. Don't worry. You've got a friend in me." 

Beverly's lip began to quiver, and he could hear her fight back her tears, fight back the frustration that threatened to overwhelm her. Then she took a deep breath, let it out, and stood silent yet again, breathing easily. _If only the strong survive,_ thought Jack_, She's going to live forever._

"Thank you, Jack," said replied softly. She stood one the tips of her toes, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Jack Crusher smiled, and watched her walk away, his hand resting against his face.


	10. Chapter 10

Jack Crusher sat staring at the wall in his quarters that evening, a strange look upon his face.

"Something wrong, Jack," Walker asked, looking quizzically at his friend.

"She kissed me," he whispered softly, as though he were in a dream he feared waking himself from. He reached up and touched his cheek again, as though the tactile contact could bring back the moment from this afternoon.

"Who? Beverly?" Jack was annoyed. Walker sounded as though he didn't even care. He acted like beautiful, perfect girls kissed _him _every day.

"Yes, Beverly." 

"Oh. Well, good for you. I have a date tonight, so I won't be back until later," Walker stood up and walked toward the cabin door, a pink rose in his right hand. "Don't forget to finish filing your assignment requests. You can take a look at mine if you want." That said, he was gone.

Jack wasn't thinking about assignments right now, all he could think about was the fiery red head who had stolen his heart. Right now, he didn't care about his duty or his responsibilities. The last thing he cared about was what ship he would be posted to following his commencement. His mind was focused on one person, and he had no choice but to go and visit her.

He would soon be sorry that he did.

* * * 

Beverly glanced up from the reports she was studying to glare menacingly at Mina. Her roommate was putting the last few touches to her face with a tube of lipstick. She was dressed in a short blue number that perfectly matched her eyes and accented every curve. As usual, she looked perfect. Beverly wondered why she had expected any less. Mina looked perfect when she rolled out of bed in the morning. "Going somewhere," she asked, unable to resist the chance to annoy the other girl. Beverly remembered Mina had a big date, but she knew that Mina would be irritated if she feigned ignorance. So she did.

Mina turned away from the mirror and tossed Beverly a superior smirk. "I have a date tonight."

"Give him my apologies," Beverly said, picking up her PADD once again.

Mina didn't say anything for a moment; she just stood there grinning like a cat that had just eaten her owner's beloved canary. The door chimed, and she walked toward it, her hips swaying and high heels clacking along the floor. Beverly could still make out a man's voice through the hiss of the door. There was something oddly familiar about the intonations. She stood up to look her heart pounding. She was trying desperately not to be obvious, hoping that Mina would not turn around as she rounded the corner to peek around the doorway. Just as she had them in sight, the door hissed shut, but Beverly had seen enough.

Mina had a pink rose in her right hand. In her left hand, she held the hand of Walker Keel.

* * *

Beverly was in a state of rage as she paced the room, fists clenched so tightly no blood could reach the tips of her fingers. _How dare he _she thought. She had believed Walker to be her friend, someone who would be an invaluable ally at the upcoming trial. He would stand by her side and fight. Not only that, but he was honorable, respectful and in possession of an outstanding record. He had been her greatest asset.

She wondered when this had started. How long had he and Mina been together? From the very beginning? Was the rest of this just part of Mina's scheme, some sort of sick cosmic joke the two of them had concocted together. Perhaps Walker had befriended her for the sole purpose of finding out how she was going to counteract Mina's claims. Together, they were going to try and stop her.

The voice of reason was poking through Beverly's irate haze. 

__

Um, excuse me said The Voice

**_Yes? What do you want now? You want to make me think with logic and clarity, is that it. Well, I won't let you. Can't you see, it all makes perfect sense. They were in it together._ **Beverly did a lot of talking to herself when she was angry. This practice had probably saved the lives of many innocent people.

_Well, I can see how you would believe that, _the voice retaliated. It was passive-aggressive, her subconscious voice. This only served to further enrage her._ The only problem is, that you met Walker _before _you ever met Mina. There's the flaw in your story right there._

**"WELL WHO _CARES_**." Beverly screamed the last part a loud. She certainty didn't. She was beyond reason, beyond rationale. All she wanted to do was find that evil, deceiving scumbag Walker Keel, and wrap her fingers around his throat. She would tear him limb from limb until he begged for mercy. Her teeth clenched in rage.

Suddenly, the door chimed again, cutting through the haze of her fury.

Cold and calculating, Beverly picked up her bedside lamp. "Let's see how well she likes you when your face is one giant swollen bruise," she growled.

"Come in," she invited, the fury leaving her voice just long enough to lure her prey into her den.

The doors parted and Jack Crusher walked through, ducking just in time to avoid being decapitated by one of the standard issue lamps all cadets had in their quarters. His eyes widened and he blinked. He looked at Beverly, and he blinked again. Then he said, what was really the stupidest thing he could think of to say. "Is something wrong, Beverly? You look angry."

Lucky for Jack, the red head had surprised herself when she tried to level him, and was too stunned to swing at him again. Instead, she sucked air through her teeth, growled low in her throat, and sneered, "Walker."

Jack, trying to be helpful, replied. "I'm Jack, not Walker. Walker went out on a date."

_So,_ Beverly thought to herself,_ he knew, too. They _all_ knew. They were all in on it._

She raised the lamp to strike again.

Quick as a cat, Jack seized Beverly's weapon and pushed her backward, pinning her against the bed with his right knee. He shoved the lamp under the bed where it was out of her immediate reach, grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her as firmly as he could, trying to batter some sense back into her brain. "What in heaven's name is _wrong_ _with you! _Why did you just try to _kill me?_" Jack's voice raised at the end of each sentence, but he thought that should be expected. He had come over here hoping to share a relaxing evening with his new friend, and had ended up being greeted by a homicidal maniac wielding a light fixture.

Suddenly, it was as though Beverly came to. "I, uh, Jack?" She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she began an inquiry. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"Knew what," asked a bewildered and trembling Jack. He released his grip on her a little, but he was still not convinced that he should set her free.

'About Walker's little date." She practically spat the last word.

"So what? Walker can go on a date if he wants to. I didn't know he needed your permission. Unless…" Jack was wounded beyond any damage Beverly's assault could have imposed on him. How could he have been so foolish? He thought she had feelings for him, but she was just obliging Walker because she cared for _him_.

"He can't go on dates with that, that _thing_ if he wants to call himself my friend," Beverly said. "And I can't believe that you think that's okay. I thought you cared for me more than that." Now Beverly's lip quivered.

Jack put two and two together. 'So she's the mysterious M," he said. "I thought it was em as in E-M, short for Emily."

Beverly sighed, the rage still evident in her flickering blue eyes. "Mystery solved."

"Not quite," said Jack. "The real mystery is why."


	11. Chapter 11

Korbin Smith and Tafton Hessful were sitting on a bench in the outdoors common area, discussing Beverly's situation. "I feel bad for her," Tafton said, "But I'm still angry about the way she acted at lunch today. I don't care what her problem is, nothing gives her the right to treat her friends that way."

"She was kind of scary," Korbin agreed. "Is she always like that when she's angry?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Tafton shook her brown head ruefully. "You would think I'd be used to it by now, but.." Her voice trailed off.

"But, there are something's you can never get used to." Korbin whispered this in a way that said she _knew._ Tafton was surprised. For a moment the blonde girl had actually sounded mature and worldly. The spell was broken momentarily, however.

"Tafton, look at that. Look at the trees, I mean look over by the trees. There' on the ground."

It was Mina. Tafton shot the girl her nastiest glare, and then gasped in surprise. Walker was seated beside her, and the two were talking amiably as though they were old friends. "That's interesting," Tafton said. 'Did you notice who was with her?"

"Yeah. I thought he was on our side." Korbin's eyes narrowed, and for a moment Tafton was eerily reminded of Beverly.

"That no good liar." Tafton had half a mind to walk over and jam the heel of her boot in Walker's stomach. She was just about to rise from the grass when a peculiar looking cadet walking near by gave her a better idea. "Psst. Cadet Data."

data turned his golden eyes towards the two friends. "Ah, greetings Cadet Hessful. Cadet Smith." He nodded politely at the pair, walking towards them.

"Shh," warned Tafton, trying to keep from being noticed by walker. Her plan would never work if he saw her sitting nearby. "Come here."

Data obediently knelt in the grass beside the brunette. "How is your investigation progressing," he asked politely. Both Lennie and Scott had inquired him that morning. The two had told him about their "project" and he had agreed to offer any assistance he could. The night Mina had spent sitting at his dinner table spreading lies about Cadet Howard, who had always treated him no less than kindly had been enough to convince him of the truth. Besides, he knew Mina had never studied for the test. She had told him that same night that she had no plans to.

Tafton smiled slyly. "It's about to get better."

"How so?"

"take a look at that." Tafton pointed to the tree against which Walker was leaning.

"Is that not your friend Cadet Keel?" Data asked. "Is he questioning Cadet Coldwell?"

"That's what I want to know," said Tafton.

Data was confused for a moment. "You wish for me to ask him what their conversation entails?"

"With your hearing, you don't need to ask," said Tafton. "All you need to do is listen."

Data's ethical programming would allow him to do no such thing. "I am sorry Tafton, but I am afraid that will not be possible. My ethical programming prohibits such covert actions."

Tafton scowled. "Well, then do you think you could walk by slowly and see what kind of conversation they're having. If I come that close, he'll see me and they'll go silent. I need to know. I have to know whose side he's on."

Data considered for a moment, and then replied. "All right."

Tafton grinned wickedly.

* * *

Jack paced around Beverly's quarters, his hands clasped behind his back, and a pained expression upon his face. He was thinking, and the only thing that his quest for answers had led to so far was more questions. Beverly, who was now considerably calmer, had stared at him thoughtfully for a while, but was now reading the PADD he had brought with him, her finger tapping the plastic edge.

"I just don't understand why," he said.

"The _Newpoint_ looks like a good prospect," Beverly replied. "She as a fairly small crew, a good track record, and very few complaints against her commanding officer. It looks like a lot of Starfleet's more prominent officers have had their start on board."

"Why would he do something like that, and not even tell me? Walker always tells me everything."

"How about the _Gottuso_? The crew's a little larger, so you'd have a little less active duty to tackle once on board. You would have a little more time to make the connections and enjoy your first tour."

"It just doesn't make any sense. He never said anything about having a relationship with her when this whole thing started. he seemed all for it. In fact, he was the one who instigated the whole thing! If he was with her, I can't see why he would have. And he had to have been with her. I mean, it hasn't been that long."

"Ooh! I think this is the one! The _Stargazer_. Not much of a crew compliment, but they all look like outstanding officers. And just look at the captain!"

Jack stopped making the rounds for a moment. "Why are you so interested in my future? I can't even think about what ship I want to serve on right now."

Beverly shrugged. "I think better when I stop worrying about something. I'm still furious with him, don't worry, but I know that the answer will present itself." She went back to staring at the PADD's screen. Jack reminded her of the best friend she had left behind on her homeworld. Slow to hurt, slow to heal.

Slowly, he sat down in the chair beside her bed, comparing the list she had made with the one Walker had left for him. That exchange seemed so long ago. He wondered what he would say to Keel when he saw him again. The two lists were almost identical. Jack read over the statistics for each of the ships. He wondered how Beverly could know him so well after such a short time. "This is due tomorrow." His voice was soft. "This is the beginning of the rest of my life, and it's due tomorrow." 

Beverly, who was unable to be rational with herself was often the voice of reason for others. "All it is is a list Jack. It just tells Starfleet what you're interested in. If those ships happen to be in the sector you get a chance to visit. Just because you show interest in a posting doesn't mean you have to pack your bags and beam up."

She was right. He entered his choices and closed the program. "How is it that you know so much about me," he asked her, a smile beginning to spread across his face once again.

She returned his grin. "I'm psychic."

"Earlier, I would have said you were physco."

She reached over and swatted him playfully on the arm, for a moment all of their problems forgotten. Their jovial mood changed, however, when the door chimed. "Come in," Beverly said, her face a stony mask. Jack stepped towards the entrance in order to be able to catch Walker. He needn't have bothered, however. Tafton and Korbin burst into the room, their cheeks red and their breathing heavy.

"We saw him. He's brilliant!" Tafton smiled gleefully. "You should see the way he's getting her to confess everything she did. He's acting like he wants to pull the same scheme, and he's in awe of what she's done. He's a regular Dixon Hill!"

"Who's a regular Dixon Hill? For that matter, who is Dixon Hill?" Jack asked.

"A private investigator from Earth's 20th century," Tafton waved the question away impatiently. "And it's Walker that is." She explained to them how she had gotten data to casually observe the couple's conversation, and relayed the information he had acquired.

Korbin nodded enthusiastically. Beverly sighed with visible relief. Jack pursed his lips and said nothing.

The friends sat and made small talk, wondering what Walker would discover from his little chat with Mina, but Jack couldn't bring himself to join in. Something just didn't feel right here. 

If Walker had had a plan like this, he would have shared it with Jack. 

Wouldn't he have?


	12. Chapter 12

Beverly lay in the darkness of her quarters, staring up at the white ceiling, a satisfied smile upon her face. She had been so silly to think that Walker's intents were those of betrayal. Now, having cooled off, her actions seemed so rash. Still, something was bothering her. 

She had shooed her guests away about an hour ago. They had spent quite some time laughing over each other's private suspicions. When Beverly had recounted her attempt to slay Jack with her innocent looking bedside lamp, the other two girls had howled with laughter. Jack had smiled slightly, just slightly, but Beverly supposed this was to be expected. If he had done the same to her, she would have launched a counter-attack, and Jack would have been lucky to still be breathing. All things considered, he had taken it well.

Jack was on her mind now, though. He had seemed sullen throughout the evening, his smile wry and his eyes sad. Beverly had asked him about when they were saying their good-byes, but he had waved away the question. "It's nothing. Just nervous about handing in my selections." She had let that explanation slide, but she had seen right through his inadequate attempt at deception. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" She had asked him, her eyes brimming with concern.

"No. I want to go to sleep. I'm fine," he said in a tone that told her not to push the issue. She had hugged him tightly and kissed him again, her lips touching his for the first time. Their eyes had met, and she had pulled away, her hand lingering on his cheek. 

"Sleep well, then," she said. He left, and she had gone to bed, closing her eyes and waiting for dreams to overtake her. So far, none had.

Suddenly the door whooshed open, breaking her train of thought. Beverly smirked to herself, thinking of Walker's dirty little trick. _The joke's on you now, Mina._

"Did you have a nice time?" Beverly asked the question in her sweetest, most caring voice.

Mina grinned to herself. So, she didn't know. She had expected Beverly's two pathetic friends to run back and tell her what they had seen transpiring between her and Keel. "Yes," she said. "Walker is such a gentlemen." She said it as though her intentions were nothing but the innocent recounting of her date, when, in fact, she had purposefully let the name slip. She wanted to enrage Beverly. It would be the perfect ending to the red head were she to forget her curfew and stormed down the hall to Keel's quarters. Mina's thoughts rang deliciously in her mind.

"Yes, yes he is," Beverly agreed. "Goodnight, Mina."

Mina was stunned. So she did know, and she didn't even care. She had agreed to go on a date with that pathetic wuss Walker, and Beverly didn't even care? If anything, she sounded happy for her.

Mina spat her toothpaste into the sink and snapped off the overhead light. She was too tired to come up with an explanation for Howard's behavior right now.

Tomorrow she would come up with a new plan.

* * *

When walker Keel returned to his quarters he was surprised to find Jack Crusher sitting at his desk, still awake.

Crusher leered at him as he walked in. "So," he said.

"So," repeated Walker, afraid to turn his back on his roommate.

"Did you have a nice time?" Jack's glare was menacing. 

"I guess." Walker was uncomfortable. A thought crossed his mind unbidden. _He knows._ But there was no way to be sure, and certainly no way he could ask. He decided to proceed with caution, and let Jack steer the conversation. He walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on his face before stripping out of his uniform and donning the shorts he wore to bed. _How could he have found out? I was careful not o let anyone notice. _Walker was confused.

"Interesting choice of ship assignment you've made. Did you consider what these postings entail? Things like honor, duty and a sense of _loyalty?_" The question, which wasn't really a question hung there. Jack scowled when Walker offered no reply.

"Jack, what is going on?"

"Nothing, Walker. I'm just seeing things clearly for the first time. It's interesting when you discover who people really are, don't you think." He leaned forward conspiritally and spoke in a low, hushed voice that sent chills down Walker's spine, for it sounded as though his friend were speaking from beyond the grave. "Tell me, Walker, what do you think? Can any of us be trusted? Does anyone really know who anyone else is?"

"Jack, if you have a problem with me, I think you owe me the courtesy of…"

"I don't owe you anything, Walker. You're the one that has a debt to pay, to Beverly. You dared to call yourself a friend."

So, he had found out. Walker proceeded carefully. "Jack, what happened tonight between Mina and I was a means to and end. There was nothing to it but me trying to find out what she had done, exactly how she had done it, and why. Don't you see? That's the problem with our whole investigation. We don't know why she would do such a thing, and without motive it's hard to convince anyone of the truth."

"Well, Beverly had no motive, and it was easy enough to falsely convict her."

Walker sighed. "Beverly did have a motive. If what Mina's scenario insinuated was true, Beverly would have been cheating on a difficult test. There are plenty of motives for cheating, so many that no one would even bother to ask her why she would do such a thing. Mina on the other hand would have to want something beyond cheating. Her idea was brilliant, but why not just answer the questions and wait to answer the last couple for a few minutes? She had to want to cause Beverly to become and outcast, or even be expelled."

Jack looked slightly less hostile now. "So, what did you find out?"

"Well, a lot of things. The reason I went on this 'date' in the first place was because I couldn't find a reason for Mina to have behaved in the way she did. Don't speak, just listen. That was why I was having trouble accepting Beverly's story at face value. We _all _twist things so that we look perfect when we relate them to others. I thought if I could get to Mina, she would shed some light on things for me, and she did, in a big way." Walker stopped, drinking from a glass of water on the sink.

"Okay, assuming I believe what you're saying," Jack said cautiously, "How did you get Mina to agree to date you." He still felt wounded from the way Walker had spoken of Beverly, even though what he said was true enough. The more fallible aspects of human nature didn't apply to those you were close to.

Walker grinned. "It was easier than I thought. I had this big story concocted about how Beverly was such a whining self-righteous baby, you were an immature moron who never got things done, Tafton was a loudmouthed self-serving jerk, Korbin was a pathetic bimbo, Lennie was an arrogant half-wit, and Scott was a total nerd. I was going to tell her that I wanted to break free of you guys, to set myself apart because I felt like you were dragging me down. All day, I thought of you guys in that way, so I would be believable when I told Mina my story. That's why I was so short with you earlier." Walker grinned. "I had to make myself believe that you were an immature moron coming to the defense of a whining, self-righteous baby."

Jack didn't smile.

"Ohh, tough crowd." Walker grimaced and continued. "Anyway, I saw Mina this afternoon and asked her to go out with me tonight, and she waved me away, telling me she already had plans. I begged her to listen to my story, and she did. after that she got this wicked grin on her face, and told me her plans had just been canceled. It was actually easier than I thought. After I picked her up, we made some small talk and I told her that I wanted to help her with the trial. I told her I would tell Parsons everything there was to know about Beverly. By that time, she was getting pretty cocky."

Jack said nothing, he just raised his eyebrows and waited. The descriptions Walker had provided of himself and their friends had hurt, even though Keel hadn't meant for them to. Jack wondered if it was because they all had a grain of truth to them.

"I thought that this was my opening, and I moved in for the kill. I decided to do some ego stroking. I told her that I admired the way she had played Beverly for a fool, and that I wanted to do the same thing to you. I asked her exactly how she had done it, and she explained it all to me in vivid details, including when she changed her access codes, and how. Now I know where we can tell Parsons to look for the change." Walker looked satisfied with himself.

"Did you find out why she did it?"

"Well, I guess." The smug look melted away. "She wasn't ever very clear on that. She just seems like the cruel, vindictive type. I guess Beverly wouldn't let her have the bed she wanted when she first arrived, and that set her off. If you ask me, the girl's got some serious anger management problems."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Walker sighed again. "Jack, I didn't want any of you to know, because if you did you would have followed me around and spied on me. Believe me, Mina was waiting for you to."

Jack said nothing. He wouldn't have spied. Maybe.

"Good night Jack."

"Oh, Walker," Jack said, snapping the bedside lamp off, "You're not really planning on duplicating Mina's little trick, are you?"

Walker laughed. "Jack, you're paranoid."

Just the same, Crusher slept with his PADD tucked securely beneath his pillow.


	13. Chapter 13

Beverly Howard and Jack Crusher met for breakfast the next morning in the dining hall, chatting about Walker's announcement. Beverly was still feeling groggy. Jack started out a little earlier in the morning than she did. "So I almost killed you for nothing?" She gave him a smile, and winked, her left hand resting atop the table.

He reached across and covered her long fingers with his own. He didn't answer. He had too much on his mind.

Beverly felt an electric jolt surge through her when his hand pressed down upon hers. "So, today's the big day?"

"I'm afraid so," Jack said, his eyes upon his companion, but his mind far in the distance.

"Jack, it's just an application."

"I know. It's just that I don't want to be wrong about this. I've spent all my life dreaming of the stars, and I don't want to screw it up now. What if my choices are the wrong ones?" 

Beverly smiled and squeezed his hand. "they won't be, Jack. Trust that everything will work out just the way it is supposed to."

"I guess," he said uncomfortably. "But, haven't you ever wondered, what if I had done something differently? Here I am standing at a major crossroads. What if I'm supposed to go left and I choose right?"

Beverly sighed. "Jack, you can't sit around second guessing yourself all of the time. We all have our what ifs and we deal with them in our own way. Like I said before, you're making too much out of this. This is only an application. You are merely showing interest in what is out there."

"you're right," he agreed.

"Of course." She smiled, and it was filled with warmth and sincerity. "Now go apply yourself, Mr. Crusher."

He rose to leave, and then thought better of it. Standing over her, he pulled her to her feet. "But what if-"

Beverly held up a finger and interrupted him. they were standing so close she could feel his breath upon her face. "I told you, we'll deal with the what ifs later."

"I'm sorry, Bev," said Jack, "really, I am, but I think I have to take care of this one now." That said, he turned his face down and kissed her, holding her close to him. He released her after a moment, kissed her forehead, and walked away. "have a nice day," he said over his shoulder.

Beverly just stared.

From a table nearby, Mina's eyes glinted from beneath the shadows her long blonde hair had cast upon her face. Now she had a plan.

* * *

New of Jack's "what if" spread through the campus like wildfire. By lunch, all of the couple's friends were gathered next to an old oak tree outside, discussing a future for their two friends.

"I heard that they were going to spend spring leave together." Tafton's eyes glinted mischievously.

"That's not what I heard," said Lennie. "I heard that Jack fell mysteriously ill during Beverly's free hour today."

"Not true," said Walker. "Jack and I have classes together all day. He was there for all of them."

"You mean they already broke up?" Korbin looked on the verge of tears.

"I think they're headed this way. They look pretty happy to me," said Scott.

"Hey guys." Beverly seated herself on the grass next to Walker. Her five friends simply stared at her, as though they were bursting to let her in on the secret of the universe.

"What's up?" Jack had placed himself next to Beverly, and rested his hand upon her knee before asking the question.

"Oh, that's so cute," Tafton whispered to Korbin. Jack pulled his hand away and glared.

"Walker's been telling us about what he found out on his little date with Mina," Scott said, noticing it might be time to change the subject. "It sounds like we have enough to overturn Parsons's ruling."

"Yeah, that's great, isn't it?" Beverly asked the question with a dreamy look in her blue eyes.

"Uh, Beverly? Just the same, you need to be careful to stick to the rules and not break your curfew. It's still five days before the trial, and if you screw up you'll never get a chance to defend yourself." Lennie was right, of course. He was worried about his friend. It was nice to see her get into a relationship with a good guy like Jack Crusher, but he couldn't help but wonder if the timing was off. He knew how distracting love could be.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Well, I had better be going. I've got a quantum mechanics test to study for." Lennie rose to his feet.

"Same here," said Scott.

"I'm meeting my roommate for a round of fencing," Korbin said shyly. 

"Fencing? No one fences anymore." Jack muttered under his breath as the Chous walked off.

"So, Walker," Tafton said, leaning in towards him. "Do you have an plans for tonight?"

'Actually, I'm afraid I have a prior engagement." The three remaining friends turned and stared. "Not with Mina," he added quickly.

Tafton pouted, her lower lip protruding just a little. "Well, what is it then?"

"Jack's going too."

"I am?" said jack

"Yes. Or at least, you should be. Don't you ever read your messages?" Walker knew the answer was no, so he continued. "The _Stargazer _has come into orbit around Mars for a refitting. All cadets that registered for application to her crew are invited to a reception in Pike Auditorium tonight. Tomorrow, we get to go over and take a tour."

"Oh," said Jack, looking crestfallen. This was not the reaction Walker had expected. "Can I bring Beverly?" Jack asked, his façade brightening at the thought. Walker made an effort not to gag.

"I guess. It's a public forum." He thought for a moment, cringing at what he knew should come next, but forcing himself to ask anyway. "Would you like to come along too, Tafton?"

The girls' eyes lit up with glee and she nodded enthusiastically. Walker fought to suppress a moan. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Tafton, she just thought she was his type when she definitely was not.

"We'll meet you in the dining room at 1700 hours. That will give Beverly about two and a half hours to enjoy herself, and a half an hour to get back to her quarters." Beverly scowled at Walker, who just shrugged. "Rules are rules, Red," he said.

Beverly's glare iced over considerably at his new nickname, but she said no more. "I'll see you in an hour," she whispered, kissing Jack softly.

"In an hour," he echoed dreamily, Walker pulling him quickly away.

To Jack, an hour seemed like sixty minutes too long.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Mina asked coldly as Beverly pinned back the flowing tendrils of her hair. Beverly had been surprised to see Mina in their room before 02:00 hours. 

"I'm going to a reception." For some reason, Beverly couldn't find it in herself to hate Mina today. The entire world seemed perfect to her. Except for that 20:00 hours curfew thing. "With Jack," she whispered airily.

"Oh," said Mina.

Beverly stepped forward from the shadows, looking like a porcelain doll in her teal dress that fell to about three inches above the knee. Mina glared at the happy expression on the red head's face. Things weren't working out the way they should have. It was time to take action.

"What's wrong with your hair?" Mina was cold; she had to admit that to herself. The fastest way to break down a woman was to make them unsure of their image.

"I, what? My hair?" Beverly reached up and touched the up-do she had just completed. It had looked fine in the mirror, but perhaps…

"Oh well, there's no time to fix that now. Do you really think you should wear those shoes with that dress though? They don't quite match."

Beverly looked down at the floor, contemplating her shoes. "They were a set. The replicator produces them together." She didn't want to doubt herself, but she could think of other times when that machine had been wrong. Perhaps the shoes were a shade off from the dress…

"Oh, well, okay then. If I were you, I would fix my makeup though. Unless this reception is for clowns."

"I didn't even put that much on." She hadn't just a dab here, a touch there. Just enough to enhance the natural beauty that was already there. However, what if she'd been so caught up in the task she didn't even realize…

"It must just be your skin tones then. They're awfully uneven."

Beverly looked in the mirror then, and yes, she was a mess. Her hair looked like snakes, not gorgeous curls, her shoes were just a shade off of her dress, if you squinted really hard and were looking for that sort of thing, and her skin was hideous. She'd never realized it before, but now she could see. She looked like an ogre. Like a monster. But she had no time to fix it now. She took a deep breath and walked to the door, her shoulders slumped. She knew Jack would be kind, but she didn't know about the others that would be there. What would they say? 

"Oh, um, Beverly? One more thing…" Mina smiled at Beverly's back, which was turned to her now, and told another lie. "That dress makes your backside look kind of, well…Do you have a sticker that says 'Wide Load'?"

Beverly was fighting back tears as the door shut.


	14. Chapter 14

Captain Jean Luc Picard, commander of the _U.S.S. Stargazer_ stood in the center of the auditorium, fighting the urge to tap his foot on the floor as cadets began pouring into the room. He was a good man; a solid leader whom is crew took comfort and pride in. Despite, or perhaps because of these things, however, socializing and chitchat were not his forte. 

Yet there he was.

He was heading for the refreshments table now, a wine glass in his hand rehearsing what he would say to the nosy cadets who would no doubt swarm around him, each jockeying to show their dominance over another when he saw her. The glass in his hand nearly crashed to the floor, it descent only stopped by an odd looking officer who's name badge identified him as Cadet Data. Data, of course. The mach- artificial life form. "Thank you," he murmured. Any other time he would have been eager to sit down with the young man and discuss his abilities. He would have loved a chance to see why the Powers That Be in Starfleet had seen fit to enroll a machine, _artificial life form_, but not now. Now he had to go see about a red head.

"Mr. Data," Do you know who that stunning young woman is," he asked, careful to keep his voice quiet so that his Weapons Officer, the every-annoying-and-blunt Vigo wouldn't scream above the ruckus "Hey babe, who the blazes are you?" Picard respected and liked Vigo, but the man could be a little too much at times.

"The woman you are referring to is Cadet Beverly Howard. She is a first year student who is enrolled on the Medical Track. I could introduce you, if you would like." The android opened his mouth and raised a finger, but Picard silenced him. It would be a cold day on Sol before he let an android do his bidding.

"No Mr. Data, that's quite all right. I shall introduce myself. Thank you for your help."

"I am glad to have been of service to you, Captain."

Picard walked off, trying to thread his way through the crowd without being stopped for an idle conversation. It was difficult to keep his eyes on the red head and not bowl anyone over, but he managed until the crowd moved aside just enough for him to squeeze through. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks.

The woman, Beverly, was even more beautiful in person. Her alabaster skin was smooth and perfect. Her legs were long, and her body fit and trim. Her hair curled down around her face in long red tendrils, leading him to look at her pouty, curvaceous lips and brilliant blue eyes. She was breathtaking in a teal dress and shoes that perfectly matched and accented every desirable thing about her. She was perfect. And she was taken. Picard's eyes narrowed at the little punk on her arm. What kind of never that boy had, thinking he deserved a woman like that. Picard knew he didn't even deserve a woman like that.

quickly, his mind began calculating the potential. Maybe they were friends. He didn't know what the situation was. There was still hope for him yet. he just had to think of the right words…

Suddenly the young man accompanying Beverly looked up and caught his eye. The boy's hazel eyes glimmered with a vivid intelligence in his handsome, square jawed face. His brown hair looked as though it had rebelled against his attempts to style it. He walked toward the captain, his hand extended. "Cadet Jack Crusher, sir. It is an honor to meet you."

"Picard looked into Crusher's eyes and recognized a bit of himself. the hopes, the dreams, the yearning to reach for the stars. He smiled a little in spite of himself. "Cadet." He nodded. he turned his gaze to Beverly, who had followed Jack over. She smiled at him, and his heart melted. "Who is your charming friend," he asked Jack, giving him no indication that he was already well aware of the answer.

Apparently, she was not the type to let men speak for her. "Cadet Beverly Howard, sir." She withdrew her long slender hand, leaving Picard's stomach to feel empty. there had been something in her touch, something warm and delightful that had stirred the dusty memories of youth deep within him. _Get a hold of yourself, Picard. what would a woman like her want with a man who is old enough to be her…Well, older than girls her age would like, at any rate._

"Captain," Jack said, snapping Picard out of his haze. "My friend Cadet Walker keel and I would be much obliged if you could spare a moment of your time to share with us some information about your ship." Picard nodded at another young man who appeared at Crusher's side. he nodded meekly, anything to spend more time near Beverly.

Picard regaled to them the history of his fine ship. Walker seemed satisfied, but Jack's eyes were hungry. he wanted more. "With all due respect captain, if it's not too personal, could you tell me a little about how you came to be Captain Picard?" Jack stared at him for a moment, and then looked away bashfully, afraid that he may have said too much. He had to know, though.

Picard smiled. The young man was so like him. "Come along, Mr. Crusher," he said, leading the way to a secluded table. "I'm afraid I'm a bit older than you, so my life's story may take a while to tell." He waited for the young men to follow, making sure that Beverly had come along as well. 

Beverly stopped before sitting down at the table. "Let me get some drinks." She took their orders and threaded her way back through the commotion. Picard never took his eyes off of her.

"Sir," Crusher said.

"Oh yes. I was born in 2305 to my parents Maurice and Yvette Picard…" and so he began, his eyes returning to the table, Beverly lost in the crowd.


	15. Chapter 15

Mina Coldwell entered the room, her eyes darting around looking for Beverly. She looked stunning tonight in a burgundy satin dress, but she wasn't searching for compliments. She was looking for Howard. It was time to make her pay. 

Like a cat, she prowled in the shadows. It seemed like hours before Howard became visible. When at least she spotted her, Mina moved in to attack.

She sidled up next to Beverly, who was now holding a tray full of crystal goblets, all of the filled with red wine. "Oh, Beverly," Mina said, a wicked grin on her face.

Beverly turned and looked at her.

"I tried to warn you not to come. I tried to be a friend, because I knew you would only make a fool of yourself. You were just too stubborn to listen." With that, Mina slid her hand under the tray and pushed up quickly, causing all of the glasses to cascade down upon the red head's dress.

Beverly shrieked in horror. Mina stepped back into the shadows and made her way deliberately from the room. She doubted she had been seen. Everyone had been too busy staring at Beverly, who was now dripping with wine and reeking of alcohol. 

Picard looked up as a sudden scream, followed by a cautious silence filled the room. he couldn't see anything, but he was out of his chair and across the room in a matter of moments. "Beverly," he said softly, coming up behind the girl. he put his hand on her arms, and walked her out of the puddle of mess gathering on the floor. She came with him, following like a lamb to the slaughter. "Come on now, easy does it." they walked out the back door, and he sat her down on a bench.

Crusher and Keel same sprinting up behind him, followed at a close distance by Tafton, who appeared to be unable to move quickly in heels. "Get some towels," Picard barked at the cadets. the three of them turned away, as though controlled by some freakishly overwhelming sense of duty. "Shh," he whispered to Beverly, who was crying softly. he ran his hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her.

Her sobs were abating by the time her friends returned. Jack handed Beverly a towel, and helped to mop the mess off. Walker stood, staring as though lost in thought, an angry expression upon his normally placid face. Tafton glowered. "What happened," asked Picard.

Beverly said a single word. "Mina."

"What the devil is that supposed to mean," asked Picard. He only enjoyed mystery in the abstract.

"I'm going to get that hag if it's the last thing I do," Walker growled. Their companion looked as though he were merely awaiting a call to arms.

"Mina is Beverly's roommate," Jack said softly. "She played a cruel trick on Beverly a few days ago, and now I think she's afraid of getting caught."

"I'm going to kill her," Beverly hissed.

"No, you're not," said Picard. "She's probably hoping you will try to do just that. Then you can be expelled before what ever it is she has done is discovered."

Beverly glared at him. He thought he heard her snarl. No one ever _ever_ addressed him with such clear contempt, but he made an exception in her case. In fact, he found it alluring.

Jack had finished cleaning Beverly off. "Bev, why don't you go back and take a shower. get yourself cleaned up and go to bed. Don't kill Mina. Don't touch her. Don't even talk to her. Just leave her alone."

"I'll go with her," Tafton offered, "Just to make sure everything's okay."

Jack nodded, kissed Beverly on the cheek, and sent the pair on their way.

Picard, seeing that his chance had run out, excused himself. He had a boring party to attend, after all, and the two cadets before him had other fish to fry.

* * *

Beverly and Tafton walked down the hall towards Beverly's quarters. Suddenly Tafton stopped at the door to her room. Beverly felt a sudden surge of panic. She didn't want to face Mina alone, but she couldn't beg her friend to come back with her. Howard women did not beg. "Wait here a minute," Tafton said.

Beverly stood in the hall alone, feeling quite conspicuous in her stained dress. She stood against a wall, trying to figure out how to best cover the giant splash of purple that had ruined her outfit. She was grateful when Tafton returned and they continued on their way. "What did you do," Beverly asked her friend. 

Tafton smiled conspiritally and pulled a small device from her bag. "It's a voice recorder," she said. "Let Mina say what ever she wants. We've got her now."

Beverly smiled. Mina was in trouble now.

* * *

"I can't believe she did that to Beverly," Jack roared once he and Walker had returned to their quarters. He had managed to maintain his composure throughout the rest of the reception, introducing himself and Walker to the other _Stargazer _officers who were present. Now, though, in the privacy of their quarters, he was coming unglued.

"Calm down, Jack," Walker said.

"I don't want to calm down!" Jack was livid.

"Okay. Just sit there and be angry then. It's your life." Walker shrugged and walked into the bathroom.

Jack opened his mouth to protest, thought better of it, and went back to his silent rage. How could she have done that? Hadn't she done enough damage already? He thought not only of the test, but also of the way she had degraded Beverly, who looked so stunning this evening, before his girlfriend had even left their quarters. Then she had to ruin the rest of Bev's evening. Jack's eyes narrowed.

Walker recognized the look on Crusher's face, though it wasn't one he had seen there very often. Quickly, because he knew what was good for them, he moved to intervene. "Jack, stop this senseless fuming and get a grip. You can't do anything about what Mina did. I'm angry too. I wish that little jerk would get what's coming to her as much as you do, but tonight we need to forget about it and get some sleep. Tomorrow we have to go tour the _Stargazer,_ remember?"

The pique cooled a little inside Jack. "Yeah. I guess I can't do that from behind a forcefeild in the brig."

"Not hardly." Walker smiled. "You and Picard seemed to hit it off fairly well."

"Yeah. I like him. He's pretty cool." Jack was understating his feelings a bit. Picard was everything he wanted to be.

"Well, get some sleep. Maybe you can make another impression on him tomorrow. It can't possibly hurt. His ship's one of the most difficult assignments for a cadet to get." Walker was hoping that Picard could put in a good word for him and Jack if they hit it off as well as they had today again.

"Goodnight, Walker." 

Jack's dreams were confused that night. He sat in a captain's chair, holding the hand of a pretty red head, and firing the phasers at a vessel that looked strangely like the head of Mina Coldwell.


	16. Chapter 16

There were no classes held at the Academy on Saturdays. Beverly was lying sprawled out on the lawn, talking with some of her friends. Walker and Jack had taken the shuttle over to Mars with some of their fellow classmates to tour Captain Picard's ship. Beverly shivered when she remembered the touch of the Captain's hands along her back. There had been something electric about his touch. Quickly, she pushed those thoughts aside. It had only been the situation, she knew. She had needed comforting desperately, and Picard had provided her with it. It was likely that she would never see him again. In a day or two, she would forget about him completely.

She picked at a blade of grass, and stared over at Lennie who was doing imitations of Admiral Parsons, whom he had had the misfortune of "visiting" with yesterday. 

"**"Now then boy**," Lennie boomed in a terrible imitation of the Admiral. **"What is this latest tomfoolery you have been involved in?" **"'Nothing', I squeaked. It was the way he was looking at me. It drained away every ounce of sense I had," Lennie continued on with his story, lowering his voice to imitate Parsons and speaking in normal tones both as himself and as the narrator. **"Nothing! You think that setting fire to the physics lab is nothing! You think that creating pandemonium is nothing!" **"That's not what happened! I didn't set the lab on fire, per say. I merely blew up my miniature containment field, which caused a table in the lab to light up in flames. It wasn't like I did it on purpose." "He stood there, just glaring at me. Then he laughed. I thought I was out of there, as unreasonable as he was with Beverly, but he actually laughed. He told me not to do it again, and I left."" Lennie looked around at his audience, waiting for their review.

"He let you go?" Beverly was incredulous. "That's not fair."

"Your acting stinks," said Scott.

Tafton and Korbin said nothing. They merely exchanged a look and giggled.

There was silence for a moment, and Tafton cleared her throat. "There was another incident last night."

"Oh geeze. You didn't kill her or something did you Beverly?" Scott sounded as though he were only half joking

'No. She spilled a whole tray of drinks down the front of my dress, and ran off before anyone could identify her."

"This time, we have evidence," Tafton said. "I went back to Beverly's quarters with her to make sure Mina didn't provoke her into doing anything rash."

"Beverly? Do something rash?" Lennie thrust a hand over his heart in mock horror.

"Anyway," Tafton said, rolling her eyes. "We stopped by my quarters on the way back and picked up a voice recorder. Everything she said is right here in my hot little hand."

"Well, let's hear it then," Scott demanded.

Tafton was about to push play when Korbin stopped her. "Not, not here. If Mina hears us play this she might steal it. Then she could get rid of all of our evidence." Korbin stared at the ground, her cheeks bright red, and said no more.

"Good idea, Korbin," Lennie said flashing her a toothy smile.

Korbin turned even redder. 

Beverly decided it was time to rescue the poor girl. "Let's listen to it later, when Jack and Walker get back. I'm sure they'll let us play it in their quarters." The others nodded in agreement. They arranged a time to meet again, and the two boys trotted off. Scott was eager to see the incinerated table in the physics lab.

"Tafton, you seemed pretty eager to go to Walker's quarters," Beverly remarked after their male companions had left. There was a glint in her eye, and she stuck her tongue partway out at her friend.

"Walker's nice," Tafton said casually. Beverly knew she thought he was a lot more than "nice", but she didn't say anything.

"She thinks he's gorgeous," Korbin said quietly, her self-confidence slowly returning after her earlier outburst.

'I do not!"

Beverly and Korbin looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "Well, I don't!" Tafton was anything but convincing.

Beverly checked her wrist chronometer. "I think I had better get going. Jack should be back in about a half hour, and I want to go meet him at the landing pad."

"Is Walker coming back at the same time?" Tafton asked. "I mean, you could probably use the company. It seems like the shuttles you're waiting for are always delayed." 

Beverly sighed. "Come on, Tafton."

* * *

Jack was pleasantly surprised to see Beverly waiting for him when he disembarked from thew shuttlecraft. Unfortunately, Walker did not feel the same way in regard to Tafton. Where Jack smiled pleasantly, Walker was forced to muffle a groan. He wondered why Beverly's friend would not simply give up and leave him alone. In the interest of diplomacy, however, he offered her a warm, if somewhat fake smile. Even at that, she frowned, seeing the way in which Jack embraced Beverly. Walker was silent. He had no problem appeasing people, but there were some limits that you just could not push. Sensing that the moment was uncomfortable, he decided to start a conversation in which all four of them could become involved. First, though, he glared daggers at Beverly, who winked at him, but said nothing.

"We had an interesting day aboard ship," Walker said.

"Oh?" Beverly looked interested, but not as enthralled as Tafton. The girl was hanging on his every word, gazing into his eyes as though the sun rose and set all because he walked the Earth. Walker knew that some men would consider this flattery, but to him it was almost sickening.

"Yeah," Jack added. "I think Walker and I must have really impressed Captain Picard when asked him to tell us his life's story. He's invited us to dinner tonight. He said we should hop on over to Paris, and after that we can tour his family vineyards in LaBarre."

"That sounds like fun, Jack." Beverly tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She had been looking forward to their spending a quiet night together, but she certainly didn't want him to miss this opportunity. She supposed that she could live without him for another day or two.

The disappointment in Beverly's eyes did not go unnoticed by her boyfriend. "Don't worry, Bev," he said. "The Captain said that you were more than welcome to come along. In fact, I think bringing a date was some kind of a prerequisite." Her eyes brightened measurably at this, and Jack's heart lifted. He was glad to see that she enjoyed spending so much time in his company.

Tafton looked meaningfully at Walker. "Do you have a date for tonight, Walker? If you don't I'd be happy to go with you. Not that I want to date you or anything, you understand. Just think of it as courtesy between friends."

"Of course," Walker said neutrally. He took a deep breath, and forced himself to say his next words. After all, he would feel slightly more comfortable going with Tafton than he would arriving without any date at all. "I would love it if you were to join us this evening."

Tafton smiled, but said nothing. She simply gave his arm a little squeeze. Walker sighed largely to himself. It was going to be a long evening.


	17. Chapter 17

Jean Luc Picard sat at a large round table in the center of one of his favorite Earth restaurants. He remembered the many awkward first dates he had had here as a teenager, and hoped that this evening wasn't going to be just another blot on that page. True, this was no first date; his companion was an old Academy friend who was now married and the mother of three children, but that did nothing to quell the queasiness in his stomach. 

Ever since last night, he had been unable to get Cadet Crusher's beautiful companion out of his mind. She had haunted his dreams, and today he had been first distracted searching for her in the crowd, and then disappointed upon finding she was not there. He had casually inquired Crusher as to her welfare, and the two had struck up an amiable conversation. Before long, he felt himself enjoying the company of this young man and his friend, Cadet Walker Keel. Now his feelings were a confused jumble. He felt not only passion, but guilt for having this passion. Still, a man cannot help what he dreams.

He promised himself that this would be the last time. He would see her here, tonight, in the company of Jack Crusher, and he would forever etch her into his memory in that context. He would see the way they cared so deeply for each other, and it would serve to balm the wounds upon his own heart. He would think of her no more after tonight.

Suddenly, there she was. Standing tall and proud next to Crusher, she looked to Picard like a magnificent angel fallen from heaven. _Jack's angel_, he reminded himself rather harshly. The dreamy façade quickly melted away, and he replaced it with the "captain's mask" of detachment that he so often wore. Crusher waved, and he nodded curtly. _Best to get this over with quickly,_ he thought to himself.

"Good evening, Sir," said Crusher. "I believe you remember my date, Cadet Beverly Howard. And Cadet Keel's companion, Cadet Tafton Hosgerb." Picard, who was now standing as a matter of formal courtesy, nodded once again. Beverly reached across the table and shook his hand. A jolt of electricity made its way down his spine.

The four cadets pulled their chairs up to the table, looking over their menus. Picard tried his best not to look at Beverly, and turned so that his face was completely obscure to her as he talked to his date, Lieutenant Hewlett. Finally, he could stand it no longer. He wanted desperately to look, but at the same time did not want to be caught looking. He turned his head around slowly, making a tremendous effort to be subtle. As is often the case however, He only succeeded in being more obvious than ever. He didn't realize that he was staring until Jack cleared his throat. Mortified not so much b his action but by being caught, he looked away, pretending to look over his own menu. The words were meaningless to him. This encounter was turning out to be a lot more difficult than he had originally planned.

At last, the waiter saved him. He breathed deeply as the others placed their orders, and was shocked when Beverly's order was the same as his own, including her wine selection. _That's meaningless,_ he told himself as his mind clicked with excitement. _It's just a coincidence, really. Think of how many millions of people have visited this restaurant over the past two hundred years. You can't be the only one that has ever ordered this dish. If you were, it wouldn't be on the menu._ Still, even though Picard did not really believe in the concepts of fate or destiny, certain things tickled his mind and set off alarms. This was one of them.

With considerable effort, he pulled his mind back to reality, where Beverly was still Jack Crusher's girlfriend, and questioned the two young men before him about their pasts, and about what their hopes were for the future. In his mind, he catalogued their responses, and grew increasingly pleased with this informal evaluation as the evening wore on. In fact, by the time they were ready to leave, he had almost convinced himself that he had found two fine officers who would be eligible to come aboard in a few short months to replace his red headed problem. Almost.

As the four cadets prepared to leave, Picard couldn't help but shamelessly indulge himself just one time. He knew it was wrong, but still his heart won over his mind. He shook Keel's hand, and then Crusher's. Than he kissed Tafton perfuctitorilly on the cheek, for the soul purpose of being able to do the same to Beverly. When his lips brushed her skin, he felt a rush to his head such as he had never felt before. The part of him that was more human than officer wanted the effects to last forever, but the part of him that was the distinguished Captain Picard had more sense than this part. He quickly pulled away, nodded, and turned to leave, grateful that he had made it through the experience with as much dignity as he had. Suddenly a pleasant voice called to him from over his shoulder. "Captain Picard?"

"Yes?" He cursed himself for smiling as broadly as he had when she spoke his name. His expression immediately reverted to the dour and humorless one we was so known for. 

"Perhaps he just misunderstood, but Jack told me that you were planning on showing us your family vineyards. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would still enjoy seeing them. Sir," She added the last word almost as an afterthought.

"Beverly," Jack hissed under his breath. "Shut up." He gave her a withering look, but she appeared not to notice.

_Merde_, thought Picard. He had forgotten about the promised tour. It would be easy enough to escape his invitation by making his excuses, but the pout Beverly had on her pink lips was irresistible. "It's all right Mr. Crusher, I believe Ms. Howard was quite correct. And no, Ms. Howard, it would be no trouble at all."

Beverly shot Jack a brief but intensely smug smile. "Thank you, Captain," she smiled. "Please, lead the way."

Picard took a deep breath and did as he was told


	18. Chapter 18

A captain depends on his intuition for many things. Whether it is noticing a minute inconsistency in the inertial dampeners or knowing when to put niceties aside and lay it all on the table, there are many things he must learn to trust his judgement for. No matter how much Starfleet training he has, no one can be prepared for everything that awaits him.

Jean Luc Picard reflected on this intuition as the sent of sun ripened grapes wafted beneath his nose in the chill night air. He had learned to trust his deeply, and believed that this was one reason his success had come so rapidly, and so deservedly. He was not a man to shy away from what others may interpret as a whim or fanciful notion. Rather, he knew when to trust his gut.

She was so beautiful, laughing there in the moonlight, her red hair glistening beneath the glittering stars. Her smile was radiant, and her blue eyes so full of life and hope. He was swept away merely by her presence. As she walked beside him, asking perfunctory questions about why the vines were tied in a certain manner and how the famous family wine was procured he wanted nothing more than to press a finger upon those beautifully chiseled lips and silence her with a soft and gentle kiss. Yet he knew he must not. His instinct told him that what would be lost would be far greater than what would be gained. So they wandered through the fields, him answering her questions as best as possible, the others, (he had almost forgotten about them) lagging behind and interjecting a comment now and then.

Suddenly Beverly stopped and glanced down at the chronometer she wore on her wrist, her eyes widening like Cinderella as the clock was striking her deadline at the ball. "What is it, Ms. Howard?" The question escaped his lips gently, and he did not allow himself to slip from formality into familiarity. Not yet at least. He needed time, first, to make his mind see her as something else. As the girlfriend of a future officer.

"Sir, I have a curfew that I must abide by," she blushed furiously, the effect making her only more desirable, "And I am afraid that I am going to miss it, as it expires in four minutes." She looked down at the ground, her face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and remorse.

Picard knew of her plight. Mr. Crusher had let it slip in idle conversation. He refused to let her be expelled. With an air of authority, he tapped the badge he wore upon his chest. "Picard to Cadwalder."

"Cadwalder here, Sir. What can I do for you?" The Lieutenant had a familiar, perky air about her.

"Lieutenant, please contact Admiral Parsons at Starfleet Academy. Tell him that a cadet Beverly Howard will be arriving to campus late this evening as I have regrettably detained her with my droning blather."

"Aye sir." The connection cut off, and Picard smiled at Beverly. "Well, we had best send you home," he said, not quite able to hide the regret in his voice. "I'm sorry for keeping you."

Beverly smiled up at him, God that smile, and he hoped that he would not melt right there before her. "Thank you, Captain." She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'm not sorry."

That said, she took Jack Crusher's hand, and along with Keel and Hessful the couple walked from the vineyard, leaving Picard more alone than he had ever felt in his life.

He had a nagging feeling that the man holding her hand ought to be him.

***

"I can't believe this," said Jack Crusher, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Not only did you charm the old burrhog into lying for you, you actually kissed him." Where some men would have been jealous, Jack looked thrilled, if slightly envious, as though he wished he could have been in Beverly's shoes. "Wow," he added, still breathless with excitement, "I'm glad you're not up against me for the _Stargazer _ position. I wouldn't stand a chance. You might have scored some points for me though."

Beverly was annoyed. Though she loved theater, she hated drama. "Will you stop," she said, her voice sweet but her eyes icy. "I was just thanking him for what he did. If it wasn't for him I would be packing my things to leave as soon I stepped foot in my room tonight."

"Still, though…"

Beverly gave her boyfriend a look that silenced him. Tafton looked away, and Walker whistled under his breath. Beverly simply didn't want to hear anymore. She wanted to forget the whole thing had ever happened, for now she was embarrassed by it. She had gone too far. Captain Picard had said nothing after her lips brushed his skin, just stared at her in astonishment. She was horrified by her actions. She had allowed herself to be swept away by his gentle wisdom, his thrilling tales, and his simple kindness. She was ashamed of herself. And now she had ruined any chance of a friendship with that fine and noble man with one rash act. 

The ride past in silence, Jack brooding over Beverly's sudden disagreeable nature, Walker sleeping off what he felt had been too long a day entirely, and Tafton staring at her date reverently as he slept. Beverly, for her part, was full of anguish and confusion. Next to her sat a man who loved her for everything she was and who believed in her. He listened to everything she had to say, he cared about what she felt, and he did everything in his power to make her happy. In the short time they had been together, she felt more fulfilled than she ever had with anyone else. And she loved him, she truly did. It surprised her, for it was so hard for her to love, yet Jack Crusher had driven her to it so easily.

Somewhere in the distance, fading rapidly, was a man she had known for but a flicker of time. One who had shown her kindness at every turn of events. He spoke with eloquence and self-assuredness, as though he knew his demons and had battled them all away. He was a man who had gotten what he deserved from life, and felt that the world owed him nothing. He was the man Jack aspired to. She knew she must drive him from her mind before everything was destroyed and yet the harder she tried the more insistently he seemed to come back.

She wondered if she would ever see him again.

She wondered if she really wanted to.

***

Mina Coldwell sat waiting as Beverly walked quietly through the door that night. "You're late," she said, an evil smirk twitching at the corners of her lips. "I took the liberty of packing some things for you." Beverly stared at the mound of boxes covering the floor, all e-labeled for return to Caldos. There was no evidence of her existence left in the room, save the covers on her bed. "I figured they were all too soft to throw you out in the middle of the night," Mina said by way of explanation.

Beverly said nothing, just pushed her way over to the bed and lay down upon it. She was too tired to pick a fight with Mina now, too tired to think, too tired to move. She closed her eyes, hoping sleep would claim her with merciful speed and save her from the internal battle her mind was waging that was making her nauseous. 

Mina frowned, her brow furrowing. Beverly appeared not to care that the war her been won and that she had not been the victor. Indeed, she seemed resigned to her role as the loser. This was far from what she had been expecting, and she refused to let it rest without some kind of exegesis. "Don't you care?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "If my life were over, I think I would be worried about something other than sleep."

Beverly turned and looked at her with fire in her eyes. "My life is far from over, Mina. My tardiness will be excused, and things will go on just as they always have, and I'll deal with them as they come. And if I can't deal with them, I'll escape them by getting some sleep and hoping for clarification in the morning. I only hope that you can do the same. Now, good night."

Mina just stared.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning, Beverly showered quickly and changed, preparing to meet her friends for breakfast and discuss the recording her and Tafton had procured after Mina had ruined the _Stargazer_ reception for Beverly a few days earlier. She finished straightening the covers on her bed and afforded herself one final glance in her mirror though she was running late already. As she looked herself over, she noticed the red light on her PADD flashing, indicating that she had received a communiqué. Sighing, she picked up the device and listened to the voice.

"Cadet Howard, this is Captain Jean Luc Picard. I was contacting you in regards to the message I had sent to Admiral Parsons last night. I am hoping that everything has worked out well, and that and punishment you may have incurred has been nullified. Please feel free to send word if there are any problems." His voice cut out abruptly and her stomach filled with the uncertain nausea again. Overnight, sleep had pushed away the sensations that the warmth and closeness of the vineyard had created and she had not thought of the Captain again until now.

She knew she must put a stop to this foolish nonsense. Jack was waiting for her now, a warm smile upon his face, she was certain, and a soft kiss upon his lips. His arms were where she truly belonged, and though she believed this with the majority of her heart, there was a spot that wondered if that belief were nothing more than a fallacy, a fanciful illusion brought on by the hardships of the past few days. Perhaps she had needed someone to turn to, and Jack had been there. Perhaps now she was mistaking the feeling of comfort for something more, something deeper. Or perhaps the opposite was true. She really was falling in love with Jack Crusher, truly falling in love for the first time and the walls surrounding her heart5 were warning her to repress these feelings, to push them back. Perhaps what she felt towards Captain Picard was comfort of a different kind; the certain knowledge that nothing serious could come of such an affair.

She began to feel a bit better. Besides, herself and Picard? What was she thinking? For all his kindness and desirable qualities he was somewhat of a stiff. A man devoid of passion for anything other than his career, or so she had heard. Moreover, he was old enough to be her…well, older than she liked at least. She nodded in affirmation to herself, but still could not quite find the strength to leave her quarters. She need another moment. Just a little more time to sit and mull over the ramifications of what might have been and what might become. Perhaps if she could thoroughly convince herself that everything was okay she would be able to convince everyone else as well.

Slowly, she placed her head in her hands and sank back onto the bed. Confusion and loneliness washed over her in violent waves. She took a deep breath. Before she could do anything, she had to pull herself together.

***

"Where is she," Jack questioned Walker for the fifth time that morning. Beverly was three minutes late for their scheduled rendezvous, and Jack was already bent out of shape.

"She's probably fluffing her hair or something. you know how women are. They think that perfection is the only thing acceptable to our side of the species."

"Yeah," Lennie agreed. "They always yell at you for being late, but they thinks it's fashionable to spend an extra hour primping themselves to see you."

"I once dated a girl who refused to let me into her quarters and left me standing in the corridor for forty-five minutes. Her roommate told me later that my date had been staring into a mirror the entire time, picking apart every imperfection she could find. I didn't notice anything wrong, though," Scott added.

"Well, boys, I hate to break up the woman bashing but I think we had better get started with or without Beverly. Korbin's parents are coming to visit this afternoon, and I have some serious cleaning to do in my quarters if I want them to pass tomorrow's inspection," Tafton interrupted.

Jack sighed as Walker pulled him over to the table. "Don't worry," said Keel. "She'll show up. If she don't, you can stop by her room and find out what's up. Maybe she's sick or something."

"maybe she was expelled," said Jack.

Tafton's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Now that the sunny side of the universe has been heard from, can we please get this meeting started." Finding no objection other than Crusher's forlorn sighs, she continued. "We all know what happened to Beverly the night of the _Stargazer_ reception. After the incident, I accompanied her back to her quarters with my handy little voice recorder and waited outside. you wouldn't believe how easy it was to make Mina spill her guts. you'd think she was proud of all the nasty things she's done."

Tafton reached over and pushed the "play" button. At once, an obnoxious voice spewed forth:

_"Oh, poor Beverly. It looks like you spilled something on your pretty dress. What a shame that you would have to leave so early. Oops, I forgot. I guess you would have had to anyway, with what your little curfew and all."_

"Like you didn't know all about what happened to my dress. You were there, remember you conniving little sneak."

"Oh, well then I suppose I was. Clever how I 'accidentally' toppled the drink tray onto you, wasn't it?"

"Some people might think so, but if you ask me it's nothing to be surprised at. After what you did to my data PADD in Jarcock's class, nothing could possibly surprise me. I'm just waiting to see what depths of evil you'll go to next."

"The way I cheated on that exam was nothing. Changing access codes and switching PADDS? That's grammar school. How do you think I got accepted to the Academy in the first place? you don't think I actually worked at it to earn my way in here, do you? I'm not exactly what you would call Starfleet material. I hacked into the systems there, downloaded what I needed to know, switched scores and times, and made up a personality profile test to be administered that best suited the most desirable qualities that I possessed. I found the answers to every question I had come across, and entered them into memory files in my PADD that could not be detected and that were erase proof. The only reason I'm even here is because I had the technology to arrange it to be so. That and my natural um 'charm'."

"So you really are nothing but a phony?"

"That's right. Everything that they think I am is an illusion of what I could be. alas, I never applied myself. But what for? When it comes so easy why should I make it hard?"

"There are things like honor and duty and loyalty. those are some reasons you might want to consider the next time you choose to ruin the lives of others. What about all of those people you beat out of a spot in the Academy? What about the people who were more deserving than you because they not only had the desire, they had the dedication and determination. What about me? I was almost expelled because you wanted to slide by without putting any effort into it."

"What about it? History is filled with account of people who were nothing but giant fronts created by those working behind them. Think of how many people in the past were nothing, but made you believe they were really something. There are more people in this world that have the spoils others deserve than that get what they truly deserve. Why should I do all of the work when I can get all of the glory? Such are the lies that history tells us to believe in."

"But why ruin my dress? Why spread lies about me and constantly make me feel badly about myself?"

"Simple. I don't like you. I don't like anyone who's justly self-righteous"

"At least when I go to bed at night I can sleep knowing that everything I am and everything I do is good and honest and real."

"If that's what matters to you, then so be it. What matters to me is being the best, or appearing to be so. No matter what the cost. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get some rest."

Tafton stopped the whirring of the machine as the others stared silently. It was Korbin who broke the silence. "I think we can call off the search for evidence. If you ask me, she's guilty as sin."


	20. Chapter 20

The door chimed to Beverly's quarters, breaking through the stupor of despair she had worked herself into. "Come," she said, the cheer she forced into her voice belaying the misery she felt inside.

"Bev, is everything okay. You didn't show up for breakfast…" Jack's voice trailed off. Beverly wore a smile on her face, but still something was not quite right. Crusher blinked, and whatever he had seen was gone. There was his Beverly, as beautiful and kind as she had ever been. He wanted to sigh with relief but stopped himself. That would only beg questions he didn't want to wrestle with.

"I'm fine, Jack. I was just feeling a bit under the weather. besides, I know everything that's on that tape. I didn't really care to relive it." She smiled faintly and shrugged. "I guess that's everything we need then."

"Yeah," he agreed. "With voiceprint analysis, they'll know for certain that it was her speaking."

"Well, let's talk about something a little more pleasant then, shall we? You never told me what she was like."

"Who?"

"The _Stargazer_, or course. Remember, the ship you toured where you befriended your hero?"

Instantly, Jack's eyes filled with stars, the same way that they did when he spoke of Beverly. "She was magnificent. We saw everything, from the engine rooms, to the cafeteria, to the crew quarters." He dropped his voice to a conspiritual whisper. "he even let us tour the bridge."

Beverly raised her eyebrows and nodded. "That's great."

"I want to go, Bev. It's like, I've never wanted anything so much in my whole life. I've had dreams before, and aspirations, but none of them compare to this one. It was like, when I stepped out of that turbolift and onto the bridge I knew that that was where I belonged."

Beverly smiled at him warmly, her earlier turmoil forgotten in the innocence he portrayed. "You will go, Jack. I know you will. I have all the faith in the world in you and I love you." She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I love you too, Beverly Howard. I love you too." He kissed her, more insistently this time, and they held each other close, their hearts pounding against one another, unmindful as time passed by and the afternoon shadows crept across the room.

***

Jean Luc Picard sat in his ready room, staring over the countless personnel files that had been sent from Starfleet Academy. This sort of drafting procedure always left his head spinning by the end of the day. There were always some who could be eliminated right away, but there were others, so many others who were so much alike. It was very rare that any one Cadet would stand at the forefront of his mind for long.

Picard himself had been at the top of his class while in attendance at the Academy, but he still was able to realize that being the best student did not always make one the best officer material. there were so many other things, those unknown elements like courage, tenacity and heart. These were things that could never be measured, but only tested in the field of reality. Picard knew with disheartening solemnity that five years from now many of the young faces before him would no longer be. Space was a cold, unforgiving thing.

He would have several openings in his staff come commencement time at the Academy, and he was trying to shuffle things around as best he could. All of the remaining faces before him had requested his ship as their first choice on which to serve their first tour of active duty. Still, he was over what he need by eight. There were six spots available, and he would choose two alternates. That meant eight of these "extras" had to go.

He looked at the smiling earnestness portrayed by each. Though he ran a tight ship and was not overly fond of those ensigns who were so new from the Academy they practically had a sheen to them, he often found himself taking them aboard anyway. They could be taught. he could reach them and make them believe in the true love of duty and the commitment to honor he so believed in before they were tainted by others who had become embittered or who had forgotten, somewhere along the way what it was that had drawn them to the fleet in the first place. This was his hope, at any rate.

Ballard, Canon, Crusher, Dalfen, De Lorme, Gallagher, Gates, Keel, Klasse, Pakard, Perryman, Reed, Sharp, Silvenman, Stewart, and Strohmeyer. They looked up at him, each begging him in their own way to decide upon them as the best candidate. Any of them had the potential to make a fine officer. It was up to him to decide which half had the most potential, and then to further break them down into order from most to least.

He was not a man to make decisions in haste. he knew that what he chose here and now would have an affect on each you man or woman for the rest of their lives, and upon his crew as well. Any one of these cadets had the potential to save or destroy his ship. 

He had just averted his mind back to the screen when a communiqué from the academy burst onto the screen. It was Beverly Howard. "Merde," he said to his constant companion Earl Grey. The tea said nothing, just sat serenely in the cup which had now gone cold. He had spent all night lying awake in his bed trying to rid her from his mind, and there she was in all her beautiful; glory.

"Captain," she said, smiling. His message had been voice only, but she had chosen to incorporate the live-feed picture. he wondered why she must torture him so. "I wanted to thank you again for sending a message to Admiral Parsons. I hope I haven't caught you at a poor time, but I wanted you to know that everything worked out well."

"Oh no, it's not a bad time Beverly," her name slipped through his lips unbidden. there it was, the familiarity he had sworn himself against. Mentally, he chided himself. "Thank you for replying. Would you like to meet me for lunch tomorrow." He could barley contain his horror. What had gotten into him. He should know how to exercise more self control than this by know. For God's sake, he was a Starfleet Captain, and here he was melting and befuddled over a woman.

"Yes, I'd love that. Is 1300 hours okay?"

"Yes, yes fine." he had to get this conversation over with as quickly as possible before he lost it completely and was asking her to date him. "Bring Mr. Crusher if you like. Picard out." He breathed a sigh of relief as her image snapped off the screen and he was confronted with his list of officer candidates once again. Suddenly the task at hand seemed far less arduous than the one awaiting him planetside tomorrow afternoon.


	21. Chapter 21

"So, this is the famous Starfleet Academy you were always droning on and on about at home? It looks like nothing more than a fancy pile of metal and bricks, if you ask me. Look at this, I've never seen so many loafers in all my life. Does anyone go to class around here, or do you all just sit around in the grass all day chit chatting?"

Korbin flushed first with anger, and then with embarrassment. Her father had been the same overbearing, incredulous, and hard-hearted man since she could remember. Through the years, she had learned to breath deeply and answer his questions with a detached, perfunctory air. That, however, did not mean she was simply able to ignore them. People who told you to ignore the negativity others expressed towards the important things in your life had never really been taunted themselves. There were some things that never stopped hurting. "Daddy, please. It's Sunday. It's an old Earth custom to take a day of rest on Sunday. It dates back to an archaic form of religion. We attend classes Monday thru Friday, every week. I usually have quite a bit of homework top complete on the weekends as well."

Her father just grunted, apparently unimpressed. "If you ask me, you're wasting your time. Why not just come home and do something useful? We could use an extra hand in the fields this year, with all of the other ungrateful children your mother and I have raised leaving home as well. I always thought you were different, but apparently I was wrong in that assumption as well. You're as selfish as the rest of them."

Tears stung Korbin's eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to fight the warm redness that was creeping its way up her fair cheeks. How could he say such things? Her own father. She looked over at her mother, who's eyes darted quickly away. She hid in the shadow of Korbin's father, just as she always had. For the first time, Korbin wondered if the poor woman had ever had any fire to her before her father had extinguished it with his ceaseless accusations and criticism.

"I am not selfish, father, I am just not interested in remaining on Chou harvesting crops for the rest of my life. I want to explore the stars, journey to new worlds and interact with new civilizations. I'm sorry, but I don't want to live your life." Korbin shuddered mentally. Never before had she stood up to her father. She had completed the entrance examinations in secrecy and had stolen away to the Academy in the middle of the night. She had known that her parents would find her. For years she had spoken of nothing but the institution. Still, it had pained her to be forced to leave in such a way, especially on that first day, when she had seen so many other families exchanging loving good-byes. 

Korbin's father looked at her with a new respect. No one in his family had ever dared speak against him. Instead, they had all bent submissively to his will, or had stolen away in the night never to be heard from again. There was something different about his bumbling daughter. In her eyes sparked a new confidence, just an ember, perhaps, but it was there. He straightened his shoulders a bit. "How can you give up your heritage so easily? How can you leave behind our family, everything that we were?"

"What were we father," she asked, her voice growing colder now, "mom, cowering in your shadows, my brothers sneaking away to other planets just to have a chance at a normal life, and me so self-conscious I could barely stand to listen to myself think. We weren't a family, we were a freak show."

"How dare you.." Her father turned bright red and snarled. Korbin stepped backwards and held her arms defensively before her. She would not allow her to reduce her to nothing again. She had come so far, accomplished so much, too much. 

Surprisingly, it was her mother who came to the rescue. Korbin could never recall such an occurrence. She grabbed her husband's arm and shook her head. "Let it go. Leave her be."

The older man opened his mouth, shut it again, and shook his head, still furious. He turned and headed for the shuttle pad, this visit with his daughter at an end. Korbin's mother remained behind for just a moment. "He's proud of you, and it hurts him to see you gone. I am proud of you as well, Korbin. I love you." That said, she walked off.

Korbin sat down beneath a nearby tree, hugged her knees hard to her chest, and cried.

***

The sun was shining brightly in the afternoon sky as Jean Luc Picard stared across the table at his dining companion, unsure of what to say. She had arrived alone, begging Jack's pardon, as he had an examination to study for. "He said he would hate to miss an opportunity to serve a tour aboard your ship because he joined you for lunch and neglected to study." She laughed a little when she told him this, as though she thought it was silly, but Picard knew where the young man was coming from. He himself had once felt the very same way.

"Beverly, what compelled you to enroll in the Academy rather than a more traditional school of medicine?" Picard felt that this was a safe question, something he was interested in, but nothing to deep or prying. 

"My parents were victims of the Arveda disaster," she said quietly. Picard remembered the incident well. He had been there as support crew, only an ensign at the time but still floored by the destruction and pain. He had never even considered the humanity of the survivors. "I was very young when it occurred. I wanted to help, but I was powerless. In many ways, that was a turning point in my life, but I knew that it was what spurred my to join the fleet. I don't think it will be enough for me to seek out private practices on this world or any other. I want to see what is out there, and I want to be there when others need me, the same way that Starfleet was for me when I needed them so many years ago." She grew quiet, and turned into herself, her body still there, but the soul reflected in her eyes focussed on a distant yesterday.

Picard wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and sooth her, but he knew that this just could not be so. It was not his place. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said simply, feeling helpless and idiotic at the inadequacy of his response.

"Don't be," she said, her tone suddenly commanding. "You had nothing to do with the events that took place on that day. I'm sad for what was lost as well, but I have come to terms with it over the years. I know that who I am now is not who I would be had that occurrence never been. I may have been better off, or things may have been worse. I'll never know. Do you believe in fate, Captain?"

Picard thought for a moment, careful not to reveal too much of himself to her. It was strange, how utterly comfortable he felt in her presence. Many of those closest to him would have never dared propose such a question, for they knew that it would elicit no response. By all accounts and purposes, Jean Luc Picard was a very private man. "No, I do not," he said finally. "I choose to look on all that has been, all that is, and all that will become as a story we are constantly writing for ourselves."

"I believe that everything happens for a reason," she said simply. 

Picard smiled. "Many people do, Cadet."

"It's what keeps me going when everything is all confused, and it's so dark inside that I can hardly see a way out. I know that there is a reason for the darkness, if only it is to make those little patches of light seem that much brighter."

Picard was floored. Here was a woman, eighteen years his junior, that spoke with as much self-assuredness, intellect and eloquence as any woman he had ever met. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Perhaps you're right, Ms. Howard, perhaps you're right."

She smiled at him again, and rose to leave. he stood with her, embraced her slightly, and softly brushed his lips over hers in a platonic way (or so he hoped). "Goodbye, Beverly," he said, his voice almost a whisper.

And she was gone.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's note: Sorry for the delay on this, I got so busy, and then I got writer's block, aagh! If you want me to continue this story, please review. It doesn't seem like enough people are reading this to make it worth writing. So please be kind and review! Thank you!

***

Beverly was up late, reading when she heard the door chime. "Come in," she yelled, glancing up briefly from the PADD she held in front of her. Captain Picard had suggested Mehlville and though he had offered her a genuine copy of the book, she had declined. She felt it was unreasonable for him to assume he could trust her with such a cherished object, especially while Mina was still lurking around plotting, Beverly figured, her next attack.

"Bev, um, I need to talk to you." Korbin slinked through the doorway and stood nervously near the entrance, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry, I'll leave. This is a bad time." She turned to go.

"Wait!" Beverly yelled. "I was just reading, Korbin. Come over here and sit down. What's on your mind."

"I was wondering, what it was like for you to grow up without parents."

Beverly was a bit taken aback. She had never really expected to have a heart-to-heart with the bumbling girl seated at her desk. This was a question she didn't quite know how to answer, even if she would have asked herself. "Um, I don't know, Korbin. It was what it was. I don't really have anything to compare it to. It's not like I lived one life with parents and one life without. If I did maybe I could compare the two. I don't even remember my mom and dad, though. It was always just Grandma. Why do you ask?"

Korbin didn't answer, just looked far away. Haunted, Beverly thought. "It was okay, though," the red head amended. "I mean life gives you stuff and you deal with it and go on."

Tears slid down Korbin's sallow cheeks. "I lost my parents today."

"My God, Korbin. What happened?"

"I grew up on Chous planet that's somewhat divided between those who believe in the technology that we have procured for ourselves, and those that believe in the simple life. My father believed in simplicity, and my whole life was spent farming alongside my family. I knew, though, even then that I could never be happy with crops and animals. I wanted something more. I was always bright, so I took the Academy entrance exam. I was so nervous, but I had no one to help me, no one to console me. If my parents had found out what I was doing, they would have never let it happen. I told them I was going on a short holiday with my friends."

Beverly remembered her own pre-exam jitters, and was thankful that her Grandmother had been so supportive of her decisions. She had never had to hide what was in her heart from the older woman.

"I took the test and did reasonably well. I was accepted. I couldn't celebrate that with my family either. I was afraid to even tell my friends, for I feared word of my plans would leak. One night, I stole away on a freighter bound for Starbase 47. From there, I was taken to the Academy. I didn't tell my parents where I went. None of my brothers did when they left, either.

Beverly was wide-eyed. Never, in her wildest dreams would she have imagined this tale as her forgetful and bumbling friend's life story. What she had done took courage and a stout heart. Until now, Howard would have never thought Smith to have it in her. She supposed you couldn't tell a program by looking at its graphics.

"My parents found me, of course. I had dropped hints so they would be able to if they deciphered what I had so often said. This morning, they came to visit. It was terrible. My father accused me of destroying our family, and my mother just cowered behind him, like she always does. Then they left, and I know they're gone for good. I've been exiled."

Beverly didn't even know what to say. "Korbin, it's going to be all right. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but things have a way of working out. I believe everything happens for a reason. Look how strong you are because of all you've been through. Even if you don't realize it, you know now that you can face anything that comes your way. I'm sorry for your loss, but don't let it break you. You made it without them before, and you can do it again. And we'll always be there for you. Scott, Lennie, Tafton, and me. We're your family now.

Korbin threw her arms around Beverly and shamelessly cried some more.

***

"So, Jack, how are things going with Beverly," Walker asked carefully. He had never seen Jack quite so moody. One moment he was on top of the world, but soon after, he looked as though he had been crushed.

"Beverly? Oh, she's great. She's the best thing that ever happened to me, and it was all thanks to you."

"Then why the mood swings?"

"It's just, she spends an awful lot of time with Captain Picard these days." He looked as though he had had this conversation with himself several times before.

Walker had noticed this too. "Well, what do you think is going on between them." Something definitely was, he added to himself. Even if Picard and Howard wouldn't admit it to themselves. He remembered the night they had all gone to visit the vineyards. The electricity between the Captain and Jack's girlfriend had been almost palpable. Keel had wondered when Crusher would start to notice. He was rather blind where Beverly was concerned.

Jack look as though he had been stricken. "What do you mean? They're just friends. How dare you insinuate…"

"Hey, hey, I wasn't insinuating anything, sorry if you took it the wrong way. I thought that was what you meant." Jack was more ignorant as to Beverly's humanity than Walker had thought.

Crusher cooled a little, and continued. 'all I meant was that I expected to hear about my assignment to the _Stargazer_ by now. I figure that must be what all their meetings are about. Picard's just trying to obtain first hand knowledge of you and me."

Walker sighed, "Of course Jack." What did he know, anyway? Maybe Jack was right.

Somehow, he doubted it.

***


	23. Chapter 23

Walker, Jack, Data, Lennie, Scott, Korbin, Tafton, and Beverly were sitting around one of the cafeteria tables making last minute additions to their final plans for Beverly's upcoming trial. Beverly leaned back and sighed, listening to her friends reiterate over and over what Korbin was supposed to do. Despite the moment of depth and emotion Beverly had shared with her, the blond girl Korbin seemed fairly well unchanged. 

"Tell them you met Beverly right after the incident supposedly took place, and that she agreed to help you out with the class that night. Remind them of how much your grade has improved since she has been helping you, and make sure that you are very clear that her story has never changed." Walker leaned even more forcefully on his elbows. "Now, what are you going to do?"

Everyone was exasperated by now. Each Cadet had gone over these instructions in turn, but Korbin still couldn't quite seem to remember them all. They all doubted how sincere the girl would sound when she stepped up as a witness, and hoped she wouldn't crack, but they felt she was instrumental in proving Beverly's depth of knowledge concerning the class in question was such that she would not need to cheat.

"Um, okay." The girl took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and fluttered her fingers before her as though performing some magical spell that would enable her to remember. "Beverly first spoke to me after she cheated on the test in Jarcock's class…"

"STOP! DO NOT SAY SHE 'CHEATED ON THE TEST.'" Walker was red in the face.

"Okay, geeze, sorry." Beverly thought about what the girl had shared with her, and she considered telling Walker to lay off, but she had to admit this was getting ridiculous. They had gone over Korbin's testimony in excess of fifteen times. Korbin took a deep breath and continued. "All right, Beverly and I first met after I read my score on the test; I forget, what should I say if I can't say 'she cheated on'?"

"The test in question."

"Okay, here goes. I first met Beverly after I read my score on the test in question." She smiled with glee. Several people moaned, but she appeared not to notice and continued. "She took pity on me because I'm so hopeless and forgetful…"

"DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF LIKE THAT," Walker roared.

"Oh, it's okay, you don't have to be nice. I know I'm hopeless and forgetful. You don't have to try and make me feel good about myself." Korbin smiled helpful. "Anyway…"

"NO, NOT ANYWAY! RIGHT NOW, I REALLY DON'T CARE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF KORBIN. WHEN YOU ESTABLISH THAT CHARACTER FOR YOURSELF, YOUN LOSE CREDIBILITY. SAY THAT YOU WERE HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH THE MATERIAL." Walker glared, "Well, go on."

Korbin was almost in tears, but she took a deep breath. "Okay, I first met Beverly while looking at my scores after the test in question. We became friends after she offered to help me with the material, as I was having trouble with it." She looked at Walker as though waiting for him to strike. He tried to smile, but his frustration made it more of a grimace. Korbin was unsure, but continued when he nodded. "That night, she and I met to study, but we ended up discussing what happened between her and Mina. She insisted to me that she studied for that test and did not cheat. Even then, I believed her. She was so open and honest. Besides, what reason would she have to lie. I mean, her punishment had already been initiated. Whatever she said wasn't going to change that." She paused for a moment, looking around nervously. She had added the last part inadvertently, and she cowered slightly, waiting for Walker to attack.

"That was a nice touch Korbin. I wish I'd have thought of it." Walker smiled, the irritation melting from his face. Korbin, having found new confidence, continued.

"Ever since then, Beverly has been helping me with the work in Professor Jarcock's class. My grades have improved tremendously with her help. She really knows what she's talking about. I can't imagine any reason why she would have to cheat. Besides, she has always been very adamant that she was nothing but truthful. Her story has never changed. I'm lucky to have a friend like her, and I think Starfleet will be lucky to have a doctor like her one day." The girl blushed with embarrassment, she felt she had said too much. She raised her eyes slowly to look at Walker for approval, but was enveloped in a hug by Beverly. 

"Oh, Korbin, that was beautiful, thank you. Everyone would be lucky to have a friend like _you_."

"Nice job, Korbin. It's great that we have future officers like yourself around." Coming from Walker, that was high praise. Korbin nearly cried. "Okay, everyone, we've all got it. Dismissed."

From the shadowy corners of the cafeteria, Captain Picard smiled. The future of Starfleet was in good hands indeed.

***

Beverly was surprised to run straight into Captain Picard as she neared her quarters. "Captain, what are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you. I wanted to tell you that I would be happy to sign my name as a non-testifying character witness in your upcoming trial." He smiled congenially at her.

"Oh, Captain Picard, I don't know what to say." Beverly was overwhelmed. The friendship between her and the older man had been steadily developing, but she would have never asked him to do such a thing. Some people may have considered it a small, meaningless gesture, But Beverly knew better. She knew the Captain well enough to realize that such an act meant he had unwavering faith in her veracity. Jean Luc Picard was not a man prone to rashness. She realized that, were she found guilty, he would think of his backing of her as a tarnishing stain upon his record. Beverly knew the weight of his statement.

"Say, 'thank you, Jean Luc."

"Thank you, Jean Luc," She parroted, acknowledging only after she had spoken his name that the formality between them had dissipated for the briefest of moments. They were no longer Captain and Cadet, but friends. She smiled up at him shyly, and leaned forward, almost impulsively. Her lips met his with astounding electricity and she drew back in shock.

Picard sensed her unease. "It's all right, Beverly." He pushed a loose tendril of her hair back away from her delicate face with such tenderness that he surprised even himself. "Would you like to get some dinner?" As much as he wished to hold her to him and press his lips upon hers again, he recognized that this was neither the time nor the place. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.

"Okay," she said, falling into step beside him as they headed for the periphery of the campus. 

"I know an excellent place just off the San Francisco Bay. The serve excellent pasta dishes and have live music to dance to." Picard melted her with his smile once again.

"It sounds wonderful," she said.

Picard just took her arm in his and continued walking, an amiable silence enveloping them.

***

Walker came careening up the hallway after Beverly, wanting to ask her about her schedule on the day of the trial when he slid to a halt in the corridor near her room. There she was, smiling radiantly at Captain Picard.

"What the blazes is he doing here," he muttered to himself. He watched the pair carefully, suspicion narrowing his eyes. He saw the way they were looking at each other, and though he could not hear their words he could understand their unspoken language. He did a double take when she kissed him. Though he had been suspicious all along, he had hoped, until now, that his fears were unfounded.

They started to walk away, and for a moment he was filled with indecision. Then he did the only thing he felt he could do; he followed them.

***

"Jean Luc, that was excellent." Beverly smiled at her companion from across the table, and he held her gaze, fearful that if he looked away she might disappear.

They had shared a lovely evening, and with each passing moment he found himself more and more attracted to the radiant woman. There was something about her that he found captivating. So enamored was he by her fiery spirit that he could almost forget she belonged to another. Almost. He tried to take his mind off his more lustful thoughts and asked her "She we dance?"

"I would be honored to dance with you."

Picard felt that the honor was his as he twirled her across the floor. She moved like liquid silk in his arms, and he had no doubt that she was an expert dancer. _My God, she's lovely,_ he thought, as he watched her undulate and spin just inches from him. He was having trouble remembering his place in society and who she was. To him, she was the embodiment of all that was woman.

As the music softened and faded away, Picard pulled her close to him. The band was silent now, having stopped for a brief intermission, and he was unaware that they were alone on the dance floor. He could feel a heart pounding in his chest, and he was unsure if the pulsating rhythm belonged to him alone or if it was magnified in intensity by the addition of hers. Love washed over him in agonizing, painful waves.

_Dear God, why_? He thought to himself as she looked up at him with such need and longing it was almost unbearable. He had never felt a yearning so deep before and was unable to see why it had to come when the woman he desired was promised to another. He couldn't look away from those beautiful eyes, and everything inside of him ached to take her and make her his alone. he would find a way. They could be together.

Slowly, he lowered his head until his lips covered hers. He had barely thought of the action when it commenced and was shocked to find himself in such a position. Moreover, she was kissing him back. What was he thinking? She was Jack's girlfriend?

He gasped and pulled back, and she looked at him with sly incredulity. He felt panic rising in his throat and was unsure of when to turn. he wanted to run away and save face, but he wanted to stay and save his soul. He couldn't let her go, yet he held her at arm's length.

"What have I done. Oh, Beverly, what have I done?" He had to get a hold of himself, he was a Starfleet captain, for God's sake. "Come on," he hissed and pulled her outside, away from the dance floor, away from the magic of romance the moment had wrought.

"Beverly, I'm so sorry." He sat on the ground, cradling his head in his hands. he felt soft brush of skin as she lowered herself beside him. .

"No, Jean Luc, I'm sorry."

"I let myself get carried away," they both stated together. He smiled at her. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around he, and their lips met again.

"We can't," he said

"I know," she nodded.

Despite their misgivings, despite their loyalties, even despite themselves, they did anyway.

Walker didn't want to believe it. He wasn't sure he could.


	24. Chapter 24

"I saw you," Walker hissed as Beverly stepped into her room later that evening.

"What are you doing here," she asked, ignoring his accusations.

"Jack gave me the access code. That's not important right now though, is it? Why did you do it Beverly? How could you betray him like that? He loves you." Walker's voice echoed the pain he felt in his heart for Jack. he wasn't sure what he was going to tell his friend yet. First, he wanted to her what Howard had to say.

"Did you ever get caught up in a moment and let it take you away? Did you ever do something you knew was stupid, even while you were doing it, because some force greater than yourself wouldn't allow you to stop?" She was crying he saw, tears tracing their way down her delicate cheekbones. There, in the soft light of her quarters, Walker could see her allure. For a brief moment, the anger he felt on behalf of his friend dissipated, and he could almost feel sorry for Picard. He wasn't sure if could control himself either. He shook his head, and forced him mind back to the issue at hand.

"Beverly, he loves you more than life itself. If he knew he would be devastated. You're the world to him. There is nothing more important, not even his assignment to the _Stargazer._"

"I love him, too."

"If you did, you wouldn't have done that. I knew there was something between you and Picard all along, ever since that night in the vineyards. I could see it. Jack was too enamored with Picard and too blinded by his love for you to notice. I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it was there. I even tried to tell Jack, and he said Picard was interviewing you about me and him. The stupid git. I knew better." Walker shook his head resignedly.

"It's over between Jean Luc and I. He's leaving tomorrow morning. I won't ever see him again. Whatever was there is no longer. I love Jack. I've never stopped loving Jack. I was sidetracked is all, and I feel so badly I don't even know how to go on. If I lose jack it will break my heart." She was crying again.

"Maybe you should have thought of that while you were lying on the ground with Captain Picard."

At that, Beverly howled with anguish, and Walker saw just how sorry she truly was. He was in a unique position, and still wasn't quite sure what to do. He could expose Picard for what he had done and destroyed some of his credibility, at the same time labeling himself as a gossip and losing the trust of senior officers before it was ever gained. He could tell Jack alone about what had happened, but he knew his friend would be shattered. That would mean that the two people he felt most deeply for in the world were embodiments of treachery and fraud. He didn't know if he could live knowing he had shattered the man in such a way. He could bring it up privately at the testimony and destroy Beverly's credibility, but that would mean leaving Mina to carry out whatever else she had planned in her tenure in Starfleet, and he didn't want to be responsible for that. That left him with one choice, and one choice is no choice.

"Do you swear that it's over between you? That no matter what may happen, you'll never find comfort in the arms of that man again."

"I swear, Walker." He looked in her eyes, and knew that what she said was true.

"Then don't breathe a word of it to Jack, it would crush him. It'll be between us." If nothing else, Walker was loyal, fiercely, and even stupidly so in later life.

Beverly grabbed him in an embrace and kissed him with such fervor and passion, Walker was almost swept away. "I love you," she said, smiling.

Walker held a finger up "Un un." 

They both laughed.

***

Despite her promise, Beverly sent one final communiqué to Picard, telling him of Walker's intervention and kindness. Picard sent a testimony in favor of Beverly's character to Admiral Parsons, and a message to each Crusher and Keel.

"Beverly, open this door." Jack was pounding on the door as hard as he could, and screaming at the top of his lungs.

_He told him,_ Beverly thought, _Walker told him. That lying sneak._ She bit her lip, realizing she didn't have much room to talk. "Computer, deactivate lock." She had been keeping the door locked lately, as she hadn't seen Mina in two days. She wondered whose life the girl was ruining now. The door chirped amiably, and Crusher spilled through with Keel on his heels. Beverly braced for his anger.

"We got the assignments! We're going to the _Stargazer_! Thank you, Beverly. I'm sure you had a had in this." Jack beamed, his grin spreading from ear to ear. "Well, hug the girl," he demanded of Walker.

Keel stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the red head. "More than a hand, I'm afraid," he whispered in her ear. She would have smacked him, but Jack would have questioned her motives so she didn't.

"Didn't I tell you she was wonderful," jack asked his friend while draping an arm over Beverly's shoulder. Beverly frowned slightly, filled with guilt and embarrassment. The three grew quiet, and Walker broke the silence.

"Everything's all set for tomorrow, Beverly. We're gonna blow that lazy, no good Coldwell right out of the torpedo bay."

"Speaking of her, where is she," Jack asked.

"I have no idea," said Beverly. "I haven't seen her for the past couple days."

Walker frowned. "Well, I hope she's not off ruining someone else's life.

"She'll be all through with that tomorrow." Beverly smiled confidently. "The only life left to be ruined is her own."

The three friends exchanged a high-five while Mina glared at them from under the bed.

***


	25. Chapter 25

"Oh, Walker, there you are. I've been meaning to talk to you like, forever, but I think you've been avoiding me." Tafton's lower lip curled in a pout and she placed her hands on her hips. "So, why haven't you returned my messages?"

Jack snickered, and then pretended to cough. Beverly pursed her lips and tried not to laugh. It was true that Walker had been avoiding Tafton at all costs, as he couldn't stand the thought of hurting the poor girl's feelings, no matter how she annoyed him. Now, though, he realized, a dawning comprehension washing over him, he had an out.

"Tafton, I've been wanting to speak with you also. Why don't you walk with us?" Walker put his arm around the brunette's shoulders as they traversed the hallway, heading for breakfast before their morning classes.

"Oh, Walker, I thought you didn't even care about me anymore," Tafton gushed. "I thought you'd forgotten all about me. But I see that you did read my messages."

"I…I did?" Walker said, and though it was a question, the girl took it as an acknowledgment.

"Of course you did! I told you that if I didn't see you before breakfast today I'd know it was over between us." Tafton smiled and then leaned over dramatically. "But, now I know that you feel as strongly about our love as I do." She pursed her lips to kiss him, but he pulled away. Jack's body was racked with unreleased laughter, and Beverly was torn between amusement and embarrassment for her friend.

"Tafton," said Walker, taking her hand in his. "I'm sorry, but I don't love you."

"Oh, you may not love me now, Walker, but you will." Her smile could have lit the room.

"Tafton, I'm sorry, but I can't, er, _allow_ myself to fall in love with you. You see, I've been posted on the _Stargazer._ As soon as this term is over, I'll be leaving. For good. Who knows when we'll get a chance to see each other again? I can't hurt you like that." Walker sighed as though he were forlorn, but actually he was exasperated. This had gone on long enough.

"Oh, Walker! I didn't know you cared so much! You're right, my heart would just break if you had to leave. That's why you should stay here." There were tears in the girl's eyes. Suddenly Keel's easy out didn't seem so easy anymore.

"Tafton, I can't. I signed up for Starfleet so I could see the stars, now that's what I'm going to do. I'm sorry, but I can't stay here with you. I would lose everything I've worked so hard for.

Tafton suddenly jerked her hand away from Walker's and flung her chair back from the table. "FINE! I HATE YOU WALKER KEEL! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING!" She stormed away, and Beverly jumped up to console her.

"Well, That went well," Walker said miserably.

Jack silently patted him on the back.

***

"I can't believe he doesn't love me."

"Tafton, you can't make someone love you just because you love them. It doesn't work like that. Believe me, I know." Beverly was trying to be consoling, but she was also trying not to be late. 

Suddenly, from out of no where, Mina appeared. "How would you know, Howard," she drawled, twirling a thick tendril of hair around a perfectly manicured finger. "You seem to have had your share of affections lately."

"Go away, Mina," Beverly raged, nervous because she didn't know just how much truth Mina believed was in her statement. "We really don't need your help right now."

"Well, I just hate it when people try to console others by pretending to feel the way they do. I was just trying to be nice. I care about poor Tafton, you know."

"You don't care about anything, Mina." Beverly shot daggers at the girl.

"Well, perhaps not. Don't you think everyone deserves to know the truth though?" Mina smiled maliciously. "I think things might be a little different were reality to rear its ugly head here."

"What's she talking about, Beverly," Tafton asked nervously. The blond looked positively vicious.

"it doesn't matter Tafton. She's just playing games. Let's go."

Mina snorted. "you're one to talk about playing games, Howard. How's this for a game? Why don't you lead on a man that dearly loves you, fall in love with an older man and have an affair with him, and then silence his best friend with a kiss. Those aren't games to you, though, are they Beverly? Those are just circumstances, moments that carried you away." 

"Mina, shut up," said Beverly, glancing at Tafton, who was still trying to work out all that Coldwell had said.

"What's the matter Howard, can't stand to hear the truth about yourself?"

Though that was part of the problem, Beverly refused to relent. Suddenly, from out of the trees, Korbin Smith hurled herself at them. "Leave her alone, Mina. Just go on and do whatever it is you do to ruin everyone's days. Haven't you done enough damage here already." The girl's eyes flashed fire, and she stood with the strength of righteousness behind her. Mina just stared.

"Go on, get out of here, I said. I've had enough of you. There are too many good people in the world for us to have to put up with someone like you. Now leave!" Smith stomped her foot for emphasis and Mina, not knowing what else to do, slipped away.

Beverly and Tafton turned and stared. "What are you waiting for?" asked Korbin. "Come on, Beverly, she almost made you late for class." Beverly, dumbfounded, followed her friend like a leashed puppy. 

Tafton stared after them, so shocked she forgot everything Mina said.

***

"Walker, she knows." Beverly caught up to the man early the next afternoon, just one day before her trial was to commence. 

"Who knows?" Walker asked. He didn't need to ask what she was referring to. there could only be one thing.

"Mina." That was the last name he had wanted to hear. He sighed deeply. 

"All right. I'll figure out something before she spreads it all over Starfleet." The look on his face aged him ten years.

"How'd she find out? I know she was no where around when we had our little, urm, discussion." Beverly looked troubled, but her comfort was the least of Walker's concerns right now. He had some major damage control to do, and he needed help. He had to enlist the only person he knew he could trust.

"Beverly," he said, taking on the commanding air that had so intrigued Picard, "find Data."

She nodded and scurried away, intent on saving her career.

***

Data and Walker sat with their heads together in the corner of the cafeteria late into the night, discussing and modifying their strategy. "If only she hadn't done that," Walker kept repeating. Data, much to his irritation, continued to give the same reply.

"There is an old Earth idiom that states 'If ifs and buts were confections and edible plant products we would all have a joyous holiday season."

"Whatever, Data," he mumbled under his breath. He was certain he had heard something similar before, but what the android said made no sense.

"Returning again to the question you proposed, Cadet Keel, 'How do we weasel our way out of this mess,' I have several other possible solutions." When Data repeated Walker's question he did so in the human's voice, which gave Keel the creeps.

"Well, go on then." Data rose to leave. "I mean, tell me your other ideas." Walker was glad he wouldn't be getting his own command anytime soon. For all his friendliness and help, Data's literal interpretation of everything made his teeth hurt.

"Perhaps, rather than confronting the problem immediately and being forced to bear all of the repercussions we should let the trial run its course and hope that no reference to the event occurs." Walker felt idiotic. The plan was beautiful in its simplicity. It was also the most obvious solution he had ever heard. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. "For example, in the 2207 case of McLeoud vs. Anderson…"

"Thank you Data, far more than I needed to know," Walker interrupted. Data nodded, unperturbed. _At least I don't have to worry about hurting the android's feelings,_ Walker mused wryly. "What about when Mina brings it up?"

"We shall instruct every witness to answer the questions truthfully, as they are posed."

"Then what difference does it make if we bring up the subject or not. They'll find out soon enough." This really was hopeless, Walker decided. They couldn't lie under oath, yet they couldn't tell the truth without destroying lives. Walker wished he could curse Beverly, but he knew she was only human. Much as he thought what she had done was wrong, he couldn't act as though she were the only one to have ever done such a thing.

"They will answer the questions _exactly_ as they are posed." Data said.

At last, Walker caught on. Maybe there was hope after all. "Data, you're a genius," he said.

"I have a positronic brain," Data replied.

***


	26. Chapter 26

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time. It's nice to know I'm not the only one reading this. Sorry again for the delay. I put up chapters26 and 27 this time. This story is getting close to the end. I'm not quite finished playing with my fav. characters yet, though…

***

Parsons marched briskly at the room and nodded at the cadets who stood assembled before him. "Sit down. Let's get this over with, shall we?" It seemed as though all the school had caught wind of the trial and had gathered to rally for their chosen champion. Mina'' group, he noticed, was dwindling and seemed homogeneously composed of vanity stricken human males. "As you all know, we have gathered here today to decide upon the guilt or innocence of one first year student, Cadet Beverly Howard. Ms. Howard was accused of cheating on an examination in her Advanced Comprehensive Terran Anatomy class, taught by Professor Jarcock. How do you plead, Ms. Howard?"

Howard rose briskly, her shoulders straight with confidence. "Not guilty, Sir."

"Let it state for the record that not only does Cadet Howard plead not guilty, she wishes to impress the charges which were brought against her upon Cadet Mina Coldwell. How do you plead, Ms. Coldwell?"

Mina flashed Parsons her best man-killing smile, cocked her head slightly, and purred. "Not guilty, Admiral."

"That said, let us begin." Parsons nodded to Cadet Keel and Cadet Data, Beverly's chosen counsels. He noticed with a slight frown that Coldwell would be defending herself. He wondered briefly if this was by choice or necessity, but then pushed his musings aside. This was no time to be partial.

'Sir, we ask that you first take into account Cadet Howard's academic record both preceding and following the incident." Keel pressed a button on the table before him, and Beverly's complete records appeared in holographic suspension in the midst of the courtroom. "we would like to point out that the Cadet has always been an exemplary student. As you can see, Cadet Howard is currently the highest marked first year Cadet in the Medical Program."

Parsons glanced perfunctorily at the hologram. He had already known as much.

Keel continued. "We would now like to call forward our first signatory, Cadet Korbin Hessful. Hessful is a first year Academy Cadet on the Medical track. She is a member of the Advance Terran Comprehensive Anatomy class in which the alleged incident took place."

Parsons nodded at a mousy looking blond girl. A Chous, he knew. He had prepared for this trial more thoroughly than the cadets on either side would ever fully realize.

"Sir, the Cadet would like permission to speak, Sir." Parsons nodded. "Sir, the Cadet became aquatinted with Cadet Howard shortly after the test in question took place." The girl's face twitched slightly, and Parsons though he saw a hint of pride. "The Cadet was having difficulty mastering the material as it was presented in class and required additional help. Cadet Howard has supplemented my classroom lessons in the time since the test in question, and the Cadet has been greatly assisted by Cadet Howard's depth of knowledge. The Cadet's records indicate as much." A new set of records appeared before Parsons, and he could see that what Hessful said was indeed true. Her marks had improved drastically. "Sir, the Cadet would like to add the she spoke with Cadet Howard on the night of the test in question. Cadet Howard told the Cadet the same story that she has continued to tell ever since then. Cadet Howard has never wavered in her reiteration of the events which took place. The Cadet would go on record to say she solidly believes in Cadet Howard's innocence, and is convinced the Cadet Howard will one day become a fine Doctor and Officer." Parsons nodded his dismissal, and Hessful returned to her seat, the tension melting away from her face. Keel gave the girl a brief nod.

"Thank you, Cadet. It seems you are not the only one willing to stand up for Cadet Howard. I have received countless letters in support of Ms. Howard's character. It seems there are many who believe her incapable of such an act." He would address the signed testimony for Captain Picard later. To Parsons, it held tremendous weight. Jean Luc Picard was an honorable man of distinction and principle. The Admiral knew Picard well enough to understand he would have never supported Howard's position if he did not believe in it with unwavering solidity. First, though, he wanted to see what the others had to say. Even great men made errors in their judgement, especially when it concerned beautiful young women. "Would Cadet Coldwell like to add anything?"

Coldwell stood up and gave him another fantastic smile. "The Cadet would let it be known that nothing is as it first seems."

"The Admiral would let it be known that the Cadet shall not speak with shadows on her tongue. Be relevant and forthright when you speak, or sit down."

Coldwell frowned slightly. Parsons had overseen enough trials to know that her brain was now rewording a carefully rehearsed speech full of figurative language, idioms and metaphors. Parsons had no patience for these tactics of distraction. He wanted the facts, not a lavish anthology of vernacular. "The Cadet would then say that Cadet Howard is of poor character. The Cadet overheard various conversations in which Cadet Howard divulged various indiscretions which she had committed to her friends. For example…"

Parsons cut her off. "Cadet Coldwell, I will not have this hearing made into a mockery. This is not a session for gossip and tidbits of 'he said, she said.' Unless you have something immediately relevant to report, such as a confession to the professed crime, I suggest you sit down rather than disclosing even the juiciest secrets which you have procured through your eavesdropping." He said this with a finality that let everyone in the room know his words were in deadly earnest.

"Not at this time, Sir," Mina sulked. "But the cadet wold request to be allowed to reopen this discussion should relevance arise."

"Permission granted. Cadet Keel. You have testified in favor of Cadet Howard's scholastic aptitude. You have provided us with a witness that would attest not only t that aptitude but to the cadets character as well. I have received countless pieces of correspondence in favor of Cadet Howard, one of which I lent considerable weight, considering the origin which I will disclose shortly. I have received nothing of relevance in favor of Cadet Coldwell's character. Despite this evidence, however, there are certain facts which I cannot overlook. The times displayed and the answers provided seem to contradict everything we know about the Cadet who sits before us. Though there is no readily discernable motive, I cannot deny the Cadet's past history of disregard for the policies and rules of this institution. Can you provide anything that is proof of your claims, beyond a reasonable doubt?"

"We would present Cadet Tafton Hosgerb, Sir."

"Sir, the Cadet would like to briefly relate an incident involving Cadet Howard and cadet Coldwell. On the night of the _Stargazer _reception…"

"Cadet," Parsons interjected, "We have just recently established how I feel about frivolous gossip which wastes my time. I don't care who said what or did what to whom that embarrassed them in front of the Officers. Say something pertinent or sit down."

"Sir, the Cadet would like to play for the Admiral a recording of a conversation between Cadet Mina Coldwell and Cadet Beverly Howard taken on the night of the _Stargazer_ reception. The Cadet would ask the Admiral to note the date imprinted on the chip, and would also ask the Admiral to note that the chip was sealed in this cargo box with an encryption code the following day by Professor Frakes to protect it against tampering. The Cadet would ask the aforementioned professor to come forward to verify her testimony and open the cargo box."

A frail looking Vulcan stepped forward. "The cadet speaks the truth. This chip is unmolested. Frakes Alpha Alpha Tango." The box opened and Frakes handed the chip to Parsons, who popped it in a slot on the table before him. Almost immediately, audio came streaming out with perfect clarity.

In all the years Parsons had been listening to testimony he had never before heard anything more indisputable. "Cadet Coldwell, did you have this conversation with Cadet Howard on the night in question?" He needn't have asked, he could tell by looking in her eyes. 

"The Cadet would prefer not to answer, Sir."

Parsons sighed. "I have only one more point to discuss before adjourning to come to my final decision. Cadet Howard, what is your relationship with Captain Jean Luc Picard?"

Howard rose before him, seeming rejuvenated. "The Cadet is friends with Captain Picard."

"How did this friendship develop?" Parsons was somewhat dubious, though he would not doubt Picard's word. It was simply unusual for a Cadet to befriend a Captain, especially _that _Captain.

"The cadet was introduced to Captain Picard on the night of the _Stargazer_ reception. The Cadet's current romantic interest, fourth year Cadet Jack Crusher, and the Cadet's friend Cadet Walker Keel were interested in procuring postings on the _Stargazer._ The Cadets spent some time chatting with Captain Picard, and were invited to dinner with the Captain on a later date. The Cadet and Captain Picard share many mutual ideals and think in similar patters, Sir. A friendship was natural between us."

"Especially after she slept with him!" 

All heads turned to stare at Mina who had gone from looking crushed to looking empowered. A malevolent gleam was bright in her eyes. "That's right, Sir, I have found something relevant to say. That lying falsity that would like us all to believe she is the persona of perfection is nothing more than a two-timing salacious wanton. She talks of the thoughts and ideals she and the Captain shared, but the all centered around one thing…"

"SILENCE!" Parsons roared. "You will speak in a formal tongue at this hearing, or you will not speak at all. And as for your 'relevant comment', it is nothing more than young people's gossip. I will not stand to have this hearing made a mockery of. What you are saying, Cadet, is no more relevant than anything you have said thus far. Kindly hold your tongue." Parsons couldn't believe such an action of his friend, and yet he wondered if it were true. He forced the thought from his mind. Even if the accusation had merit it held no bearing on his decision. The tape he had listened to was sufficient evidence not only to overturn his earlier punishment, but to ban Mina Coldwell from Starfleet for the rest of her days. His adjournment was merely a formality. His mind was all ready made up. "We will reconvene in two hour's time. Dismissed."

***

"That Mina," Jack shook his head, "What a character. Who'd of thought she would have come up with a whopper like that to save her sorry behind." Crusher chuckled to himself, unmindful of the wary glances passing between the others. He was too blinded by his love to have any doubts about his view of the truth. He turned to Beverly and smiled, "What's the matter, Bev? You look upset. Cheer up, there's no way she can win this thing now, not after Tafton's performance. Let me get you some hot tea. Does anyone else want anything?" The others chimed in their drink orders and Jack trotted off happily to get them.

"So, Beverly, is it true what Mina said? Did you really have an affair with Captain Picard." Scott whistled under his breath. Walker glared menacingly, but Scott only shrugged. "Sorry man, but you've got to give her credit for cracking the old burrhog even if what she did was wrong." He smiled slyly and added "Besides, she may be the only reason you and Crusher have jobs."

"I thought she was lying." Korbin looked as though Beverly's indiscretion had been against her. "That day, when we were heading for class and she cut you off…I would have never thought to believe anything that came out of that monster's mouth. I guess I should have."

"Beverly, you have to tell Jack. It just isn't right. If you don't, I will." Lennie's resolve was evident in his firm timbre. Walker sensed impending doom. He knew Lennie's heart was in the right place, but the other boy didn't know Crusher the way Keel did. He was just about to elicit damage control when Tafton stepped in.

"Oh come off of it, all of you. While Mina was eavesdropping she failed to understand the most important part of the conversation. I was the person Beverly was talking to."

"Yeah, so?" Lennie's scowl deepened to include both girls, as though he now counted Tafton as a traitor as well.

"Don't you get it? It was me, not Beverly that had the little fling with Picard. I was discussing it with her because I felt so terrible and guilty over what I had done. The Captain and I just got carried away. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but later I realized I hardly even knew the poor lonely man." Tafton curled her lip out in a pout and sniffed.

"SO Tafton got you and Crusher your jobs, Keel. Way to go, Taft," Scott thumped the brunette amiably on the shoulder. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be posted to the _Ellipse_ after I graduate." He gave her an exaggerated wink, and she smiled wanly back.

Beverly looked around at the faces before her, noticing they had grown measurably less chilly. Walker looked relieved. She nodded ever so slightly to Tafton, who smiled warmly in return. Beverly had a new definition for friendship and loyalty.

Jack returned momentarily, carrying their beverages. "Well, what did I miss? You all look so cheery all of the sudden."

"Oh, Tafton just revealed the secret of the universe to us," Walker said casually. 

"Really," Jack tilted his head slightly. "Are you going to fill me in?"

"Let's just say you and I owe her a drink in honor of our new commissions. She helped, erm, procure them for us."

"So Mina's not as big a liar as we thought," Jack smiled knowingly at Tafton, who shrugged.

"No, Jack," Beverly said ruefully, though Crusher missed the subtlety, "She's not."


	27. Chapter 27

"That Mina," Jack shook his head, "What a character. Who'd of thought she would have come up with a whopper like that to save her sorry behind." Crusher chuckled to himself, unmindful of the wary glances passing between the others. He was too blinded by his love to have any doubts about his view of the truth. He turned to Beverly and smiled, "What's the matter, Bev? You look upset. Cheer up, there's no way she can win this thing now, not after Tafton's performance. Let me get you some hot tea. Does anyone else want anything?" The others chimed in their drink orders and Jack trotted off happily to get them.

"So, Beverly, is it true what Mina said? Did you really have an affair with Captain Picard." Scott whistled under his breath. Walker glared menacingly, but Scott only shrugged. "Sorry man, but you've got to give her credit for cracking the old burrhog even if what she did was wrong." He smiled slyly and added "Besides, she may be the only reason you and Crusher have jobs."

"I thought she was lying." Korbin looked as though Beverly's indiscretion had been against her. "That day, when we were heading for class and she cut you off…I would have never thought to believe anything that came out of that monster's mouth. I guess I should have."

"Beverly, you have to tell Jack. It just isn't right. If you don't, I will." Lennie's resolve was evident in his firm timbre. Walker sensed impending doom. He knew Lennie's heart was in the right place, but the other boy didn't know Crusher the way Keel did. He was just about to elicit damage control when Tafton stepped in.

"Oh come off of it, all of you. While Mina was eavesdropping she failed to understand the most important part of the conversation. I was the person Beverly was talking to."

"Yeah, so?" Lennie's scowl deepened to include both girls, as though he now counted Tafton as a traitor as well.

"Don't you get it? It was me, not Beverly that had the little fling with Picard. I was discussing it with her because I felt so terrible and guilty over what I had done. The Captain and I just got carried away. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but later I realized I hardly even knew the poor lonely man." Tafton curled her lip out in a pout and sniffed.

"SO Tafton got you and Crusher your jobs, Keel. Way to go, Taft," Scott thumped the brunette amiably on the shoulder. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be posted to the _Ellipse_ after I graduate." He gave her an exaggerated wink, and she smiled wanly back.

Beverly looked around at the faces before her, noticing they had grown measurably less chilly. Walker looked relieved. She nodded ever so slightly to Tafton, who smiled warmly in return. Beverly had a new definition for friendship and loyalty.

Jack returned momentarily, carrying their beverages. "Well, what did I miss? You all look so cheery all of the sudden."

"Oh, Tafton just revealed the secret of the universe to us," Walker said casually. 

"Really," Jack tilted his head slightly. "Are you going to fill me in?"

"Let's just say you and I owe her a drink in honor of our new commissions. She helped, erm, procure them for us."

"So Mina's not as big a liar as we thought," Jack smiled knowingly at Tafton, who shrugged.

"No, Jack," Beverly said ruefully, though Crusher missed the subtlety, "She's not."

***

"Be seated," Parsons bellowed above the milieu. "I have reached a verdict. Once the decision is read, it will be final, and all punishment prescribed will commence immediately." 

Beverly felt a knot tighten in her stomach. She knew that a win by her side had already been secured, but there was still just a touch of nagging doubt. Perhaps they had overlooked something. Or perhaps Parsons had been wiled by Mina's charm. In a moment, she would know for certain, and the whole terrible ordeal would be over, one way or another.

"Cadets, I see gathered before me group of young people with tremendous potential. You have all earned your way here through hard work, dedication to the task at hand, and raw talent. Each and every one of you was hand selected at our testing centers because we felt that you had the potential to embody all of the things that make Starfleet what it is: dignity, integrity, character, honor, loyalty, and honesty." He said the last word with an impending urgency that enraptured even the Cadets that had been uninterested before. Parsons cleared his throat softly and continued. "The hearing we have just participated in started as a question of honesty, the word of one cadet against the word of another. I believed the facts were clear cut and simple. I now stand corrected." He nodded slightly to Beverly and her friends, and continued. "Though I have known for a long time now that nothing is ever as it seems, I fear that we often forget to incorporate this knowledge into our daily lives.

"What started as word against word became something deeper as it was allowed to stew and fester. It became the classic vendetta of wrongly accused versus falsely innocent. When the integrity of Cadet Howard was questioned, she dug deeper for answers. Cadet Coldwell became nervous. She had come though the ordeal as it was first presented without a blemish, but deep in her heart, she knew that one day her demons would come home to roost. So she was careful. She hid who and what she was beneath an exterior of charm and confidence. Many of us were fooled. We saw her as she wanted to be seen, and though some of us did not like her, we thought no real ill of her. Cadet Howard and her friends knew otherwise.

"It seems that true character can only be found through the trials of adversity, and though I am ashamed to say that it was I who incriminated the fine Cadet standing before me, a part of me knows that she will be a better person for what she has found inside of herself. She knew that the hand dealt to her had been unfair, but rather than moping about it, she chose to pick up the pieces and do something. In accomplishing this, she found her real friends, the Cadets who stand behind her today. She used her strength of character to convince them that Cadet Coldwell was indeed a fake, and that she was who she claimed to be. As the Cadets organized themselves to rally against their common enemy, Cadet Coldwell grew overconfident. Though she knew that Cadet Howard and her followers knew the truth, she felt that she was above and even immune to the suspicions of others. Eventually her overconfidence lead to sloppiness, which led to a mistake, which lead to a discovery that will heal many wound, even if it cannot truly right any wrongs. 

"Cadet Coldwell, Cadet Howard, please step forward." The room grew silent, and all eyes fell on the two girls. Beverly could hear the heels of her boots echoing of the marble floor, but felt a new confidence growing inside her. The truth had at last reared its ugly head. When the two young women reached the podium, Parsons continued. "Before me stand two Cadets whom I falsely judged. I weighed the word of one against the words of another, and came to the wrong conclusion.

"Cadet Coldwell began her Starfleet career at the beginning of this semester. To me, she was just another name on the roster of incoming students, another young person who had earned her place in our great organization. A CMO of tomorrow. Cadet Howard had already been with us for a semester before this one. She had a history of rule-bending, and I used this and what seemed like concrete facts to impart my judgement. I found her guilty of cheating. I was wrong. Today, I retract this verdict.

"Cadet Coldwell, you have been found guilty. You failed your first Academy Entrance Exam. Though most fail their first time, you felt cheated, and, rather than showing maturity and _dignity_ as any Starfleet officer would, you cheated those more deserving than you out of their rightful place in this institution. We need only to listen to the recording procured by Cadet Hosgerb to find numerous examples of you serious lack of _integrity_. Any person with _character_ would never be able to find it within themselves to perform the rituals of manipulation, degradation, and annihilation that you practice daily. Someone with _honor_ would have studied longer, pushed harder, and become better, rather than taking the easy way out. Had you any feelings of _loyalty_, not only to this organization, but to yourself, you would not be standing before me today. As for _honesty_? Many of us are wondering if you have ever had a notion of the concept.

"I find you guilty of conduct seriously unbecoming a Starfleet Cadet. You are hereby dishonorably discharged. Never again will you have contact with this organization, or find solace in its service. I only pray that you have learned a lesson here today. May whatever God you believe in have mercy on your soul, if it is right that He should do so." Parsons nodded to a burly pair of security guards. "Get her out of my sight."

The room exploded in raucous celebration. Parsons let it continue for a moment, then raised his hand for quiet. "I would go on the record to say that the Cadet before me, Cadet Howard, is a fine example of everything that a Starfleet Cadet should be. We are all better for knowing her. Dismissed."

Beverly sighed, letting her shoulders drop from attention. She turned toward her friends and smiled with unabashed joy for the first time since the beginning of the semester. She embraced them all in a tight hug, resolving herself to be everything she had ever dreamed of and more. She promised to be better, and to live up to the honorable words which had just described her. Her eyes met those of her friends, taking each of them in in turn, and she whispered softy, "I'm better for knowing you."

***

Two days later, Beverly caught Tafton by herself in a corner of the cafeteria. The brunette girl smiled warmly as Beverly slid in the seat opposite her. "Tafton, I never got a chance to thank you for what you did for me on the day of the trial. You're amazing. Not one person in a thousand would have that sort of loyalty for a friend."

Tafton shrugged. "It was nothing. You would have done the same for me. I knew you and Picard hit it off the night of the reception. The way he was looking at you…" She frowned slightly, and tears welled in her eyes.

"What is it," Beverly asked gently.

"You're so lucky. You have two men who would give anything to be with you, and I have no one. The one I want wants nothing to do with me. I thought of what I would have done if I were you, and I knew that the choice wouldn't be an easy one to make. Jack and Picard are so different. I think you chose the right man, though. A starship tends to be a jealous mistress. Believe me, I know."

"You mean Walker?"

Tafton nodded. "Yeah, him."

Beverly reached across the table and grabbed her friend's hand. "Tafton, if he didn't really love you in some way he would have led you on and made you believe there was a future for the two of you. He cares for you enough to tell you the truth."

"That's right," said Keel, who had been steadily approaching Hosgerb from behind as Beverly distracted the girl. He handed the brunette a single yellow rose, and sat beside her. "Tafton, I do love you, just not the way you want me to, but that's okay. I'm not good enough for you anyway. What you did for Beverly was incredible. I am so glad I can call you my friend. No matter what happens, no matter where we are, I always want to call you my friend."

Tafton said nothing, she just leaned forward, embraced Walker tightly, and cried some more.

***


	28. Chapter 28 Epilouge

Author's note: Well, here it is, the end (sob). Write and tell me what you thought! Also, if you would like to give me a challenge or another story idea, that would be great. If you liked this story I have another P/C story called "Lessons" on fanfic. Also, check out some of my original writings and poetry. Thanks for reading.

Epilogue

"Jack, will you hold still and let me straighten your collar properly," Beverly huffed as she gave Crusher a few last minute touch ups before he stepped onto the stage. Crusher batted her hand away impatiently, and continued fidgeting nervously. Beverly sighed pointedly. "I hope Captain Picard can straighten you out one you sign on to that bloody ship you both love. I can just see you arriving for bridge duty with your shirt tail hanging out."

"Actually, I was planning on wearing my underwear as a hat," Crusher deadpanned.

Beverly just rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, so funny I forgot to laugh. Seriously, Jack, please stand still so I can make you look presentable. Look at Walker, he's behaving the way a man should, letting Tafton fix him up."

"That's Walker, always acquiescing to make everyone happy. I'm not like that. I live to aggravate you," Jack gave Howard a slight smile, and then grinned conspiritoally as he handed her a brown paper sack. "How's this for aggravation?"

Beverly cringed as she reached into the bag. Her face relaxed she her fingers clenched around a small, paper book. "Where did you get a real book, Jack? And why? You know I love them, but they're so expensive, and this is your day, not mine." Beverly didn't notice that all of her friends had stopped their goings-on and turned to watch her open her gift.

"Perhaps you should read the title." Crusher raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"_How To Advance Your Career Through Marriage._ Very funny Jack."

Crusher turned and grasped both of her hands in his, his liquid brown eyes melting into her deep blue ones. "Beverly, it's not a joke." Beverly's face became blank, and then white as he knelt down before her. "Beverly Howard, I love you with all my heart. I have loved you since the day I met you. You are my best friend. Please, make me the happiest man in the universe by saying you will be my wife."

"Yes. I love you, Jack." Her lips met his softly, and he held her close, never wanting to let her go. A moment later she pulled away, swatting him playfully. "Enough of that. Now that I have some pull with you, perhaps I can make you stand still."

"And so it begins…Yes, dear," Jack pouted mockingly.

***

Jean Luc Picard stopped dead in his tracks before he could walk through the threshold of the Cadet's dressing room. In a quarter of an hour or so he would commission his new officers, including Jack Crusher and Walker Keel. He could have just as well performed the duty aboard ship, but he had once again lost control because of a certain red head he had tried so terribly hard to forget.

It had been nearly five months since he had last seen her, and still not a day had passed when she didn't race through his mind. Usually she filled his dreams, and he woke up sweating and longing not just to be with her, but to watch as she spoke with him, to hear her words, and listen to her thoughts. He could see the angry frown she so often wore, and that beautiful, brilliant smile. She was always there, always lurking, always threatening to steal away his resolve again. 

He wanted to leave her behind. She wanted to be friends. She had sent him a few communiqués, telling him about the hearing and various facet of her everyday life. He wanted so badly to respond, just to carry on a conversation with her, but he found after a single trial that even this was more than he could bear, so he ignored her. Eventually she had stopped the correspondence, as he had known she one day would. He told himself it was better this way. She belonged to Jack Crusher.

Still, though, his mind held on to the fleeting fragile hope that this would come to pass, and they could be together. He knew that it was wrong of him to want such a terrible thing for one of his men in the same way that he knew that any relationship between him and Beverly would be inappropriate, but a part of him did not care. This was the part that spurred his dreams and fueled his desire. This was the part that had won out in his desperate, final battle to see her one last time before he would allow her to slip into the realm of memories. She would be just another dream deferred on his path to greatness. He had denied himself many things to attain the position he held today. Beverly Howard would be just another casualty of his love for the office he held.

He took her in as she stood, holding a brown paper sack and smiling dubiously at the man standing before her. God, how lovely she was. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to race forward and envelope her in his embrace, but something more than professionalism held him back. The room was eerily quiet, and he noticed that he was not the only one who's gaze had been ensnared by the couple. Something was happening here.

He saw Jack Crusher go down on one knee, and his heart jumped into his throat. He wanted to stop what he knew must be happening, but he felt as though his feet had grown roots. He felt sick in the very pit of his stomach. This just could not be.

And then he knew that she had accepted his offer, the offer that Picard himself had wanted to make, but there had been Jack Crusher in the way, always in the way. He took a deep breath and regained control of himself. Though he was not always a pragmatic man, Jean Luc Picard was a disciplined and diplomatic one. This man would soon be one of his officers, and had already become a bit of a friend. Who knew where time would lead?

Despite these things, Picard found that he could not join the others in giving their congratulations. He felt a choking sensation in his throat, and tears burned in his eyes. He shook his head briskly. She was just a woman, he told himself again and again. 

He turned to leave, shoulders straight and head held high. He would simply do his duty. After the commissioning ceremony, he would congratulate the two of them, and life would go on. It always had. As he stepped through the door, Walker Keel tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sir, I know that it's not really any of my business, but I just wanted to tell you that she really did care for you, and she always wished that the two of you could be friends."

"You're right it's not any of your business," Picard said sternly, a sudden harshness shadowing his features. His eyes softened a bit, and he added, "but that is nice to know. She told me what you did for the two of us. I wanted you to know that you earned this posting on your own merit, as did Mr. Crusher. You're a good man, soon-to-be Ensign Keel."

"Thank you, Sir. You're a good man, too," Keel shook his Captain's hand, nodded slightly, and turned away. Picard wasn't sure if he would call himself a good man, but he knew that Walker Keel understood where he had come from, and had forgiven him. 

It was time for _him_ to forgive Jack Crusher, for he knew better than anyone where the young man was coming from.

***

"You remember Beverly, Sir?" Ensign Jack Crusher asked Captain Picard following his commissioning. 

Picard smiled slightly, "How could I forget?" 

"I asked her to marry me this afternoon. I thought that since I was moving on with my life, I wanted to make sure she was heading in that direction with me. I know that I would be lost without her," Crusher smiled. "Sorry, Sir, I don't normally blather on in this fashion."

Picard knew otherwise, but said nothing of it. "Quite understandable, Ensign. Ah, there's the lucky woman now. Beverly, how very good to see you." And it was. He folded her in his arms and felt nothing but pure joy.

"Jean Luc, you're looking well." She smiled that brilliant smile, and he felt only the slightest twinge of jealousy towards Jack. Jack Crusher was good man. He deserved a good woman like Beverly Howard.

"Congratulations, Beverly. I hope you and Jack are happy together." Though he had forced the comment from his mouth, he found that the sentiment was indeed genuine. 

"Thank you Jean Luc."

"If you'll excuse me," he said. No point in tempting fate. It was easier to deal the memory of Beverly Howard than it was to deal with his feelings when he saw her in person. He nodded to Crusher and walked away. A moment later, a voice called his name.

"Jean Luc, wait!" He paused, his heart starting to tear in two. If only she knew what she did to him. "Please, Jean Luc, let us be friends. I've missed you so terribly since you've stopped corresponding with me." Beverly looked a bit troubled by his aloofness.

"I would like very much to be your friend, Beverly." Picard's voice was stiff and formal.

She smiled, and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Take care of Jack for me. He thinks he knows it all, you know."

Picard nodded, he had known it all when he was in Crusher's shoes. Or so he had thought.

"I love you, Jean Luc," she whispered. She squeezed his hand and then she was gone.

***

Beverly looked around her empty room one last time as she prepared to board the shuttle home to Caldos for the post-second semester break. She nodded to herself, and prepared to turn off the light one final time when something caught her eye. She walked over to the room's communication panel and pressed the blinking light to retrieve her message.

"Beverly, I don't have much time since I'm pretty much the most junior officer her, and we get use of the communications array based on seniority, but I just wanted to tell you how amazing it is here. I'm doing things I never dreamed about, even back at the Academy. They prepare you for life in space, but they don't tell you what it's like to work under a great man like Jean Luc Picard. Everything changed for me as soon as I stepped aboard this ship. I found a new purpose, a new drive. He pushes us to be the best everyday, and then he asks for more. He wants you to find the best within yourself. I never knew one person could change the life of another so much until I met you, and now the Captain. I love you." He waved on the screen and then it went blank. She suppose he had run out of time.

She walked past Mina's long empty bed on her way out the door and gave it a rueful little smile, and then a mock salute, despite that Coldwell had never done anything to earn such respect. Or had she? Beverly would never be the same after Mina, and she knew, without a doubt, that she had been changed for the better. She supposed that it was in her darkest hours that she had found the brightest lights of love. It just went to show that often those who tried to hurt you only made you stronger.

Beverly supposed that, in a way, Mina had helped her discover the greatest things in life.

She had found them within herself.


End file.
